Kids With Psoriasis Likely To Be Obese Or Overweight: Study

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20 November, 2012 10:11 AM

Kids With Psoriasis Likely To Be Obese Or Overweight: Study

WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- Children with psoriasis are about twice as likely to be overweight or obese as children who don't have the disease, according to an international study published Monday in Archives of Dermatology.

And US children with psoriasis have much higher odds than psoriatic children in other countries of being obese or overweight, the study also shows.

Quoting the study, China's Xinhua news agency said that within the US population, Hispanics and African American children had significantly greater rates of being obese and overweight than whites and Asians. The odds ratio of being obese were particularly high for US children with more severe psoriasis.

"There has been increasing attention to the association of psoriasis and metabolic risks in adults, but this study shows that the association of being overweight or obese and having psoriasis may be even higher in affected children than in adults," said Amy Paller, chair of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and lead author of the study.

"This is incredibly significant," Paller said. "It tells us these children are at increased risk of health complications ( cardiac risk and insulin resistance) and need to be watched closely and treated."

Psoriasis is characterised by red, often itchy scaling lesions that can be localised (especially to the scalp, knees and elbows) or cover the entire body. The disease affects 2.5 to 3.5 percent of the global population with up to 33 percent of the cases starting in childhood, particularly during adolescence.

-- BERNAMA

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Kids With Psoriasis Likely To Be Obese Or Overweight: Study