Can Antidepressants Prevent Psoriasis in Depressed Patients?

A study of over 67,000 depressed patients tracks new psoriasis diagnosis to determine whether antidepressants protect against this common autoimmune disease.

Photo by Drew Graham on Unsplash

Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disease causing body-wide inflammation. The most familiar and visible symptoms of psoriasis affect the skin due to accelerated growth of skin cells, leading to red plaques, scaly, flaky skin, pitting of fingernails, and related changes. Psoriasis also affects joints, causing a potentially severe form of arthritis in 10 to 20 percent of affected people and leading to significant pain and infirmity.

Over 3 percent of people in the US (2014) have psoriasis, and an estimated 125 million are affected world-wide. Psoriasis is not just a skin and joint disease, however. People with psoriasis are more likely to develop other medical conditions, including type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and other autoimmune diseases.

The psychodermatology of psoriasis

Psoriasis and psychiatric conditions are interrelated. This risk of depression is significantly higher for people with psoriasis, especially those treated with strong medications…