Global prevalence of obesity in patients with psoriatic arthritis

[Fred]

This study explored the global prevalence of obesity, abdominal obesity, and being overweight in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

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Background:
Although the risk of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and obesity comorbidities is increasing, only a few systematic global prevalence studies have been conducted.

Objective:
This study explored the global prevalence of obesity, abdominal obesity, and being overweight in patients with PsA.

Methods:
We examined eight databases from their inception to November 20, 2024. The R language was used for the data analysis. Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were used to evaluate the heterogeneity of the pooled studies. Funnel plots and Egger's tests were used to assess publication bias in the included studies, and the trim-and-fill method was used to correct for bias.

Results:
Twenty-seven studies were included. The overall prevalence of obesity in patients with PsA was 35% (95% CI, 0.30 to 0.40). The prevalence of obesity in adults with PsA was 35% (95% CI, 0.28 to 0.42), and it was 27% (95% CI, 0.11 to 0.46) in children and adolescents. Africa had the highest prevalence (57%; 95% CI, 0.43 to 0.69). In contrast, the prevalence was the lowest in Europe at 31% (95% CI, 0.25 to 0.38). In terms of countries, China had the highest prevalence (65%), followed by Egypt (57%) and Norway (55%). The lowest prevalence was observed in the United States (20%).

Conclusions:
These findings confirm the association between obesity and PsA. Considering the negative impact of obesity on PsA treatment, the early detection and management of obesity should be prioritized. Further population-based prospective observational studies are required to clarify the mechanisms underlying the coexistence of obesity in patients with PsA.

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com

*Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program, Shanghai Hospital Development Center Foundation, CACMS Innovation Fund, Shanghai Oriental Talent Program for Top-notch Project, CACM Eaglet Program for Cultivating Young Clinical Talents in Chinese Medicine, Shanghai Municipal Health Commission Seed Program for Medical New Technology Research and Translation

[mataribot]

I hate these studies were they misrepresent the facts and make inferences that aren’t there. How do we know that PSA isn’t the underlying disease that contributes to obesity?

[Caroline]

I hate these studies were they misrepresent the facts and make inferences that aren’t there. How do we know that PSA isn’t the underlying disease that contributes to obesity?

I agree partly with Mata.

As I see it this study reports a high prevalence of obesity among patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), these figures should be interpreted with caution, as no direct comparison with matched populations without PsA was performed.

I have done a bit of research and then you see that obesity affects approximately 13% of the adult population, while the prevalence among patients with PsA was 35%, suggesting a substantially higher value of obese people.
But global numbers do not say anything about how that is per country. E.g. obesity is known to be very high in the states.
And also age can be of influence, so you should be very much more precise in your analyses.

But on average I do think it is clear that there is an association between PsA and obesity. An analyses as above does not contribute very much to that what we already know.
What would have been more valuable is research in the mechanisms that cause this obesity, are the physical are they psychological? Or are there other reasons.