People severely afflicted by psoriasis have a significantly increased risk of dying from heart disease, new research shows.
A Swedish study found that patients hospitalised with the skin disorder were 50% more likely to die from a heart condition than expected.
The extra risk increased sharply as patients got younger, rising to 162% for those admitted under the age of 40.
For severe psoriasis sufferers aged 40-59 when they were hospitalised, the risk was 91% higher than in the average population.
However the same trend was not seen in less seriously affected individuals who were not admitted to hospital.
The findings emerge from a Swedish study of almost 9,000 psoriasis patients admitted to dermatology wards and more than 19,000 outpatients.
They suggest a genetic defect linking the skin condition and heart problems.
Serious psoriasis sufferers are known to have raised levels of blood cholesterol, which is a chief indicator of heart and artery disease.
Previously this was blamed on the age of older patients or the long term effect of drugs used to treat the disorder.
But the Swedish researchers found high cholesterol levels in a group of 600 newly diagnosed patients who had been suffering from psoriasis for less than a year.
