Nasim Tootoonchi
Nasim Tootoonchi is an Assistant professor at Tehran University Of Medical Science, Razi Hospital ,Iran.
Title: Demographic aspects, clinical characteristics, and therapeutic approaches in geriatric psoriasis: A population-based study in Iran
Biography
Biography: Nasim Tootoonchi
Abstract
Worldwide, particularly in developing countries, the population has aged over the past decades.
In each society, a notable financial and healthcare burden will be specified to this age group, because this subgroup suffers from various chronic debilitating diseases such as dermatological conditions. An important issue, regarding the occurrence of psoriasis in the elderly, is unusual clinical manifestations of the disease in this age population. Epidemiological studies could show considerably higher rates of systemic complications such as heart failure, , psoriatic arthritis, as well as poorer quality of life. Accordingly, therapeutic approaches in psoriasis should be different as compared to the younger population. To achieve such a goal, the first step will be to gather sufficient information about the epidemiological, demographic, and clinical features of the disease in each community. Methodology: we aimed to provide an overview of the epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutic consequences among elderly patients with psoriasis in Iranian society. This study was conducted on 156 patients over 60 years with the definitive diagnosis of psoriasis referred to our center between 2015 and 2019. Results and conclusions: Among geriatric psoriasis patients, we determined the male to female ratio of 3 to 2, and the peak age of 67 years. The most common clinical feature is the plaque type and the most frequent involved zone is upper extremities. Among underlying comorbidities, the association of hypertension and diabetes mellitus with psoriasis is more expected than other diseases. In older adults, topical medications are more preferred to systemic approaches. Sex differences in disease characteristics are mainly related to mean age at disease onset, disease duration, plaque type of the disease, and the risk for nail involvement. Further studies are required to determine which drug therapies are more effective and should be prescribed to geriatric psoriatic patients.