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Epidemiology of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis in Italy—a Systematic Review

  • Psoriatic Arthritis (J Scher, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Understanding prevalence of diseases within specific regions of a country is important for optimal allocation of healthcare resources/funds. We performed a systematic review to obtain a clearer picture of the epidemiology of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis across and within specific regions of Italy.

Recent Findings

Prevalence of psoriasis in specific regions showed more variability (0.8–4.5%) than that in the total population (1.8–3.1%). Prevalence of psoriatic arthritis in the general population was reported for only two regions, Chiavari (0.09%) and Marche (0.42%). All other studies reported prevalence of psoriatic arthritis in patients with psoriasis in single centres and Italy-wide (4.7–47.1%). Prevalence of psoriatic arthritis was highest in patients with nail and/or scalp psoriasis and/or intergluteal/perianal region involvement.

Summary

Based on current available data, these conditions appear to affect a substantial number of people and will likely have an important impact on the Italian healthcare system.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Caroline Spencer and Dr Sue Chambers (Rx Communications, Mold, UK) for medical writing assistance with the preparation of this manuscript, funded by Eli Lilly and Company.

Funding

This work was funded by Eli Lilly and Company.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Dermatology, Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Francesca Prignano

  2. Eli Lilly Italia S.p.A., Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy

    Veronica Rogai, Elisabetta Cavallucci & Alessandro Bitossi

  3. Lilly Deutschland GmbH, Bad Homburg, Germany

    Volker Hammen

  4. Rheumatology Division, Hospital of Prato, Prato, Italy

    Fabrizio Cantini

Authors
  1. Francesca Prignano
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  2. Veronica Rogai
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  3. Elisabetta Cavallucci
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  4. Alessandro Bitossi
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  5. Volker Hammen
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  6. Fabrizio Cantini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elisabetta Cavallucci.

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Conflict of Interest

Veronica Rogai, Elisabetta Cavallucci and Alessandro Bitossi are employees and shareholders of Eli Lilly and Company. Volker Hammen is a former employee of Eli Lilly and Company. Fabrizio Cantini is a member of advisory boards for Eli Lilly. Francesca Prignano is a member of advisory boards and/or speaker for Eli Lilly, Abiogen Pharma, Abbvie, Novartis, Pfizer and Leo Pharma.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Psoriatic Arthritis

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Prignano, F., Rogai, V., Cavallucci, E. et al. Epidemiology of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis in Italy—a Systematic Review. Curr Rheumatol Rep 20, 43 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-018-0753-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-018-0753-1

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