Psoriasis in the third age.

This study was performed during a 10-year period at several hospitalization centres from various districts in Slovenia and Croatia. The number of elderly patients, above 65 years, compared with the total number of inpatients in the aforementioned departments and clinics in the course of 10 years ranged from 12% to 25%. The percentage of psoriatics, according to the total number of elderly in-patients was 1.8% in Rijeka, 2.3% in Maribor, 4% in Celje and up to 6.1% in Zagreb. On the whole, 241 psoriatics (165 males and 76 females) were treated in the above centres during a 10-year period. The number of patients with psoriasis vulgaris was 214 on the whole; among them 13 presented with psoriasis arthropatica, 6 with pustular psoriasis (one with the palmo-plantar variety) and 8 with erythrodermic psoriasis. Retinoids (etretinate) increase serum lipids and decrease HDL cholesterol in the long-term treatment, thus increasing the already existing risk of atherosclerosis and of coronary heart diseases in older life age. Serum lipids, HDL and LDL cholesterol and A and B apolipoprotein are therefore monitorized each week when etretinate has been given.