Cardiovascular comorbidities of pediatric psoriasis among hospitalized children in the United States.

BACKGROUND

Psoriasis has been shown to be associated with cardiovascular disease in adults. Little is known about cardiovascular risk in pediatric psoriasis.

OBJECTIVE

To determine if there is an association between pediatric psoriasis and cardiovascular comorbidities.

METHODS

Data were analyzed from the 2002-2012 Nationwide Inpatient Sample, which included 4,884,448 hospitalized children aged 0-17 years. Bivariate and multivariate survey logistic regression models were created to calculate the odds of psoriasis on cardiovascular comorbidities.

RESULTS

In multivariate survey logistic regression models adjusting for age, sex, and race/ethnicity, pediatric psoriasis was significantly associated with 5 of 10 cardiovascular comorbidities (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval]), including obesity (3.15 [2.46-4.05]), hypertension (2.63 [1.93-3.59]), diabetes (2.90 [1.90-4.42]), arrhythmia (1.39 [1.02-1.88]), and valvular heart disease (1.90 [1.07-3.37]). The highest odds of cardiovascular risk factors occurred in blacks and Hispanics and children ages 0-9 years, but there were no sex differences.

LIMITATIONS: The study was limited to hospitalized children. We were unable to assess the impact of psoriasis treatment or family history on cardiovascular risk.

CONCLUSION

Pediatric psoriasis is associated with higher odds of multiple cardiovascular comorbidities among hospitalized patients. Strategies for mitigating excess cardiovascular risk in pediatric psoriasis need to be determined.