A description of treatment patterns of psoriasis by medical providers and disease severity in US women.

Background: Studies on treatment patterns of psoriasis are valuable to evaluate how efficiently individuals with psoriasis are treated and may facilitate improved outcomes for these patients.

Objective: To describe treatment patterns of psoriasis among US women.

Methods: In the Nurses' Health Study II (NHS II), a prospective study of female nurses, 2107 women reported to have a diagnosis of psoriasis made by a clinician. We sent them the Psoriasis Screening Tool-2, a validated diagnostic tool for psoriasis, which queries age at diagnosis, treatments, type of psoriasis lesions, body surface area involved, and the provider who made the diagnosis.

Results: A total of 1382 women completed and returned the survey, with 1243 of them validated for having psoriasis. 30% of the patients were diagnosed by non-dermatologists. 79% of the patients reported mild, 17% moderate and 4% severe disease. Psoriasis phenotypes were as follows: plaque 41%, scalp 49%, inverse 27%, nail 22% and palmoplantar 15%. Treatment patterns for mild psoriasis were as follows: only topical treatment 58%, systemic therapy and/or phototherapy 16% and no treatment 26%. Treatment patterns for moderate-to-severe disease were as follows: only topical treatment 42%, systemic therapy and/or phototherapy 47% and no treatment 11%.

Conclusion: The majority of women in NHS II with psoriasis have mild disease. A large proportion of psoriasis patients were diagnosed by non-dermatologists. More than half of people with moderate-to-severe disease received no treatment or only topical medications. A considerable percentage of people with psoriasis reported phenotypes other than chronic plaque psoriasis.