Impact of Biologic Therapies on the Risk of Progression from Psoriasis to Psoriatic Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies.

What was studied

This review pooled cohort studies of adults with psoriasis. None had joint disease at the start. The studies gave adjusted risk numbers for new psoriatic arthritis. The review asked whether biologic drugs were linked to lower risk of this joint disease.

What they found

The review included 15 cohort studies with 124,138 people. Biologic use was linked to lower arthritis risk than non-biologic treatment. The pooled hazard ratio was 0.54. IL-17 drugs and IL-23 drugs were linked to lower risk than TNF drugs. IL-23 drugs were linked to lower risk than IL-17 drugs. IL-23 and IL-12/23 drugs did not differ clearly.

What it means for patients

The team says biologic drugs were linked to fewer new cases of psoriatic arthritis. This was mainly so for IL-23 and IL-17 types. They suggest early block of the disease path may delay the diagnosis.

Why it is not certain yet

The data came from cohort studies, not from trials. People were not assigned to drugs by chance. The team says this limits any claim that the drugs cause the lower risk. Some comparisons rest on only 3 or 4 studies.

Source

Impact of Biologic Therapies on the Risk of Progression from Psoriasis to Psoriatic Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies.

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