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Higher cardiovascular risk in patients with psoriasis and elevated circulating osteopontin levels

A study conducted at the Taichung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan assessed the role of circulating osteopontin in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases in patients with psoriasis. The analysis of blood samples revealed that patients with psoriasis had significantly higher median plasma osteopontin levels than controls. In addition, osteopontin levels of at least 62.95 ng/ml correlated with psoriasis (OR 6.24), hypertension (OR 3.05) and diabetes (OR 3.13). After adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes and advanced age, the investigators observed that psoriasis was an independent risk factor for increased plasma osteopontin. These results indicate that high circulating osteopontin levels increase cardiovascular risk in patients with psoriasis (Chen Y.J. et al. ...