Prevalence of psoriasis in Spain in the age of biologics

Introduction: The prevalence of psoriasis in Spain was estimated to be 1.4% before the advent of biologic agents. Fifteen years later, new therapeutic options based on biologic agents have led to greater awareness of the disease and better understanding; case detection and diagnosis may have improved as a result.

Objective: To investigate the current prevalence of psoriasis in Spain and compare the results with those of an earlier study that used the same methodology.

Material and methods: Population-based cross-sectional survey. Information was collected through computer-assisted telephone interviews with a randomly selected representative sample of the Spanish population (12,711 individuals from 4,754 households). Interviews were conducted by trained personnel using a questionnaire.

Results: The prevalence was 2.3% and there were no statistically significant differences between the sexes. Prevalence increased with age (range with highest prevalence, 60-69 years). Central Spain-a region with a cold, dry climate-had the highest prevalence, but differences between regions were not significant.

Conclusions: Psoriasis is substantially more prevalent in Spain than was previously estimated. The increase in prevalence may reflect greater awareness and better diagnosis of the disease rather than a true increase in number of cases.