Gum disease linked to psoriasis: Taiwanese study

NEW YORK - People with chronic gum disease seem to be slightly more likely to develop the skin condition psoriasis, according to a new study.

Taiwanese researchers found that in a group of more than 230,000 people, those with gum disease were 54 percent more likely to get psoriasis over five years.

The study is among the first to investigate the link between the two conditions and doesn't necessarily mean gum disease can cause psoriasis.

"We don't know very much about what the risk factors are for chronic inflammatory diseases like psoriasis," said Dr. Joel Gelfand, a dermatologist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, who was not involved in the new research.

"This study points in a potentially new direction for a potential risk factor thatin theorycould be modified and thus lower the risk of psoriasis in the future," he told Reuters Health. "That being said, this finding needs to be confirmed by more-rigorous, more-controlled studies to determine if the findings are real."

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Gum disease linked to psoriasis: Taiwanese study