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Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: BACKGROUND, OBJECTIVE, METHODS, RESULTS. Meshes: Adult, Arteries, Atherosclerosis, Biomarkers, Blood Flow Velocity, Blood Pressure Determination, Cardiovascular Diseases, Carotid Arteries, Cholesterol, Chronic Disease, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Homocysteine, Humans, Hypertension, Italy, Male, Middle Aged, Prevalence, Psoriasis, Pulsatile Flow, Risk Factors, Triglycerides, Vascular Resistance.
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Is chronic plaque psoriasis associated with increased arterial stiffness? Context: Patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis have a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and atherosclerosis. Arterial stiffness is a measure of endothelial dysfunction and an independent predictor of cardiovascular events. To investigate whether chronic plaque psoriasis is associated with an increased arterial stiffness. A cross-sectional study on 39 adult patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis and 38 control patients with skin diseases other than psoriasis was conducted. Arterial stiffness was assessed by carotid-femoral and carotid-radial pulse wave velocity (PWVcf, PWVcr). PWVcf was significantly higher in patients with psoriasis than in controls (means +/- SD; 8.88 +/- 1.96 vs. 7.57 +/- 1.34 m/s; p = 0.001). Difference was still significant after adjustment for age, gender, smoking status, hypertension and body mass index (8.78 +/- 1.98 vs. 7.78 +/- 2.0 m/s; p = 0.03). There was a positive correlation between PWVcf and years of psoriasis duration (r = 0.58; p = 0.0001), but not with disease severity.
assistant
Moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis may be independently associated with increased arterial stiffness. Psoriasis duration could be a risk factor for arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis. Final Decision: yes