Reumatizam, Vol. 64 No. suppl. 1, 2017.
Review article
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF AND CLASSIFICATION CRITERIA FOR PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS
Nadica Laktašić-Žerjavić
Tea Schnurrer-Luke-Vrbanić
Abstract
Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic infl ammatory arthritis associated with psoriasis. It is a member of the spondyloarthritis
(SpA) group and its most frequent subtype. It is diffi cult to determine the epidemiology of PsA due to the
absence of universally accepted diagnostic criteria. Th e prevalence of PsA among patients with psoriasis is around 30%
(varying from 6% to 42%). It is higher in Europe and the USA. In Asian countries, the prevalence of PsA among
patients with psoriasis has been estimated to be less than 10%. Th ere is still a high prevalence of undiagnosed PsA in
patients with psoriasis (up to 30%). Dermatologists should be encouraged to regularly screen their patients for PsA
using several accepted screening tools. Prevalence estimates of PsA in Europe range from 0.05% in Turkey and the
Czech Republic to 0.42% in Italy. Prevalence estimates of PsA in South America and Asia are lower than in Europe, and
range from 0.02% in China to 0.07% in Argentina. Th e annual incidence of PsA in patients with psoriasis is 2 to 3%.
Patients with severe psoriasis and nail changes are at greater risk of developing PsA. Th e fi rst classifi cation criteria for
PsA were proposed by Moll and Wright in 1973. In 1991, the European Spondyloarthropathy Study Group (ESSG)
criteria established for the fi rst time that PsA can also occur in the absence of psoriasis. Th e ASAS criteria for axial and
peripheral SpA can be used in combination for the entire SpA population, including patients with PsA. Th e CASPAR
criteria, developed by the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and PsA (GRAPA), have very high specifi city
and sensitivity (98.7% and 91.4%, respectively). Although they are not diagnostic criteria, the CASPAR criteria have
been accepted not only in research, but in clinical practice as well.
Keywords
Arthritis, psoriatic – classifi cation, diagnosis, epidemiology; Spondylarthritis – classifi cation, diagnosis
Hrčak ID:
188330
URI
Publication date:
25.10.2017.
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