Childhood and adolescent psoriasis in Greece: a retrospective analysis of 842 patients.

BACKGROUND

Childhood and adolescent psoriasis is not an uncommon disease, but epidemiological information from a large series of studies is still lacking.

OBJECTIVE

Our purpose was to present the demographics, clinical features, and outcome of psoriasis appearing in Greek patients from infants up to adolescents.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective analysis of 842 children and adolescents who diagnosed with psoriasis over a period of twenty years.

RESULTS

The mean age of psoriasis onset was 7.33 years, and the sex distribution was equal between boys and girls. Plaque-type psoriasis was the most frequent type (82.1%), followed by perianal, inverse, and guttate. The limbs and the scalp were the main body areas affected. The affected body surface area (BSA) was more than 10% in only 1.7% of patients, and the overall disease manifestations were considered to be mild. Psoriatic nails were detected in 11.8% of patients, while psoriatic arthritis in only six (0.7%) patients. An additional autoimmune disease was present in 3.8% of patients, and 16.7% had a positive family history for first-degree relatives. The main choice of therapy was topical treatment.

CONCLUSION

Gender distribution, type of psoriasis, and body area affection is almost the same as in adults. Most of the patients presented with mild disease of little extent, possibly indicating the favorable effect of sun in a Mediterranean country. The most often prescribed treatment for the majority of patients was topical.