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Rheumatology Advance Access published online on August 27, 2009
Rheumatology, doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kep230
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Review

Psoriatic arthritis in Asia

Lai-Shan Tam1, Ying-Ying Leung2 and Edmund K. Li1

1Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin and 2Department of Medicine, North District Hospital, Hong Kong, China.

Correspondence to: Edmund K. Li, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China. E-mail: edmundli{at}cuhk.edu.hk


  Abstract

Geographic or ethnic differences in the occurrence of disease often provide insights into causes of disease and possible opportunities for disease prevention. A wide variation on the incidence and prevalence of PsA was reported in different countries. The prevalence in China was similar to the rest of the world, whereas the incidence and prevalence of PsA was much lower in Japan. Among patients with psoriasis, 6–42% of the Caucasians were reported to have PsA, but figures were lower from Asian countries (1–9%). Divergent distribution of HLA in different ethnic groups and other genetic determinants may account for these differences in prevalence. PsA affects men and women almost equally in Chinese, Japanese and Iranians, which is similar to their Caucasian counterparts. Polyarthritis developing in the fourth decade was the commonest pattern of arthritis among Chinese, Indians, Iranians, Kuwaiti Arabs and Malays. Arthritis mutilans and eye lesions have rarely been reported in Asian countries. Chinese patients with nail disease and DIP joints involvement have a significantly higher risk of developing deformed joints. More data are required on the safety, efficacy and cost effectiveness of TNF blockers for the treatment of PsA in Asia. Premature atherosclerosis has been recognized as an important co-morbidity in Asian patients with PsA. Increased prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors associated with PsA suggested that the two conditions may share the same inflammatory pathway. Carotid intima–media thickness can identify PsA patients with subclinical atherosclerosis who may benefit from early intervention.

KEY WORDS: Psoriatic arthritis, Asia, Epidemiology, Premature atherosclerosis

Submitted 12 May 2009; revised version accepted 30 June 2009.
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