Psoriasis negatively affects patient sleep quality

(HealthDay)—Patients with psoriasis commonly report poor sleep, with itch being the main predictor, according to a study published online April 28 in the British Journal of Dermatology.

Peter Jensen, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and colleagues examined the prevalence of sleep disturbance in 179 patients with plaque psoriasis compared to 105 controls.

The researchers found that 25 percent of patients with psoriasis reported clinical insomnia (based on the Insomnia Severity Index), compared with 10.5 percent of controls. Based on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, 53.9 percent of patients with psoriasis were poor sleepers versus 21.9 percent of controls. Itch symptoms were significantly associated with all sleep-related outcomes.

"A higher proportion of patients with psoriasis suffer from poor sleep than controls from the general population. Itch was the main predictor of impaired sleep," the authors write. "Improved control of psoriasis with decreased itch may improve sleep disturbance in psoriasis."

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