Higher Risk Of Psoriasis In People With Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Meta-Analysis

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of psoriasis in people with objective sleep apnea. Methods: A meta-analysis of studies was conducted investigating the risk of psoriasis in people with objective sleep apnea according to meta-analyses rules. PubMed, EMBASE, Ovid and Cochrane libraries were searched from inception to 20 November 2018. Two assessors independently selected the eligible studies, and extracted data. Results: Three studies with a total of 85468 participants were identified. The random effects model was applied. The psoriasis risk in people with objective sleep apnea was increased compared to the controls. The risk ratio (RR) of psoriasis was 2.58 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.29-5.16). The I(2)value was 47.4% (p = 0.149), which indicated that there was no substantial heterogeneity. Conclusions: Patients with objective sleep apnea have a higher likelihood of psoriasis. Further studies are required to provide data for psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) scores, severity of objective sleep apnea, and different age and sex groups to illustrate if there is a higher risk of psoriasis is associated with these factors.