Psoriasis is associated with an increased risk for thyroid disease among US adults, according to research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Investigators used data from the 2009-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine the association between psoriasis and risk for thyroid disease. The analysis included 15,582 people (aged 20 or older). The overall psoriasis prevalence was 2.6%. For all adult psoriasis patients, the odds of having thyroid disease were increased (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.607). The odds of having thyroid disease were also increased for individuals aged 40-59 (aOR, 2.667). Psoriasis was also associated with higher odds of thyroid dysfunction (aOR, 1.605) in sensitivity analyses when patients with known thyroid cancer were excluded. “Further large cohort studies are warranted to characterize temporality between psoriasis diagnosis, psoriatic arthritis, and onset of thyroid dysfunction,” the study authors write
