The truth is that many diseases not only carry their own symptoms but can also increase the risk of the onset of another disease. A new study from Chang Gung University in Taiwan reveals a link between psoriasis, hyperlipidemia, and chronic kidney disease.
The team behind the study already knew that psoriasis patients were at a higher risk for hyperlipidemia than non-psoriasis patients and hypothesized the two might also be linked to chronic kidney disease. Psoriasis has known associations with many diseases, but no substantial evidence linking it to chronic kidney disease. A secondary objective of the study was to examine whether statin treatment, which is usually administered for hyperlipidemia to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, may assist with chronic kidney disease as well. There is some conflicting evidence for this, so the team hoped to elaborate more on the subject.
The study utilized a large database of patient data from Taiwan that they expected would represent the population as a whole. The team analyzed the data and found that patients with psoriasis were at a higher risk for chronic kidney disease. This was also true for hyperlipidemia patients, who had a slightly greater risk for chronic kidney disease than psoriasis patients. Statin use for hyperlipidemia patients also correlated with decreased chronic kidney disease incidents in hyperlipidemia patients.
While they couldn’t conduct any direct experiments, the team hypothesized that the increased chronic kidney disease in psoriasis patients could be immune-related. Psoriasis is a type of inflammatory disease, which is an immune system response. Another similar study out of the United Kingdom has similar results and had similar conclusions. Statin’s effects on chronic kidney disease were more of a mystery, and the team couldn’t give much in the way of a concrete explanation.
This study identifies a link between psoriasis, hyperlipidemia, and chronic kidney disease while also showing potential positive effects of statin treatment for chronic kidney disease. Due to the study’s nature, specific reasons behind the associations could not be identified, but the team gave some possible explanations. Future studies may use this as evidence for other investigations into these connections.
The study concludes, “We observed an association between statin treatment for hyperlipidemia and a reduced risk of CKD in patients with psoriasis.” and “For patients with psoriasis and hyperlipidemia, our study may serve as a basis for further studies to investigate the effect of statin use on the kidney.”
Sources: PLOS One, Penn Medicine
