ABSTRACT

Childhood psoriasis constitutes 4% of all cutaneous diseases in this age group. In this study, our aim was to evaluate the general features of the children with psoriasis that were treated in our Psoriasis Outpatient Clinic.

The data about 130 children (less than 16 years of age) with psoriasis registered at the Psoriasis Outpatient Clinic between 2002 and 2007 were evaluated.

These 130 children constituted 12.9% of the total psoriasis patients seen over the same period in our department. Of the 130 cases, 85 were girls and 45 were boys. Disease duration ranged from 1.5 to 172 months (median, 48). A positive family history was present in approximately one third of the patients. Plaque psoriasis was the most frequent clinical presentation. Scalp involvement was observed in 50.7% and nail involvement in 33% of cases. The most frequent precipitating factors were emotional stress (n=73), infection (n=31) and trauma (n=16). PASI score was <3 in 63.8% of patients; 3-15 in 35.3% and >15 in 0.7%. PASI scores were higher in the boys than in the girls (p<0.05).

Our study showed that family history was present in approximately one third of the children with psoriasis. Childhood psoriasis is more severe in boys and plaque psoriasis is the most frequent clinical variant.