MONDAY, July 19 (HealthDay News) -- Psoriasis patients with a higher body mass index (BMI) at age 18 have an increased risk of developing psoriatic arthritis (PsA) than those with a lower BMI at that age, according to research published in the July issue of the Archives of Dermatology.

Razieh Soltani-Arabshahi, M.D., of the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City, and colleagues conducted a study of 943 volunteer patients with psoriasis to assess the relationship between obesity and PsA. The study took place between November 2002 and October 2008, with the measured outcome of physician-diagnosed PsA from a self-report questionnaire.

The researchers found that increased BMI at age 18 predicted PsA independent of other risk factors. With each unit of increase in BMI at that age, there was an associated 5.3 percent increase in the risk of PsA. Current BMI was not associated with risk, nor was family history of psoriasis. Other variables predictive of increased PsA risk included younger age at psoriasis onset, female sex, higher worst-ever body surface area involvement with psoriasis, presence of the Koebner phenomenon, and nail involvement. The researchers concluded that higher levels of inflammatory cytokines associated with obesity might play a role in the increased risk of PsA.

"Importantly, the limitations of this study include the case definition of PsA, difficulty establishing a temporal relationship between the factors evaluated, and the lack of validation data on the accuracy of patient recall of BMI at age 18 years," write the authors of an accompanying editorial. "Using data accrued in the coming years, future risk factor studies might overcome the methodologic challenges of previous investigations, and we eagerly await the results."

Several of the study authors disclosed financial relationships with pharmaceutical and/or medical device companies.

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