The prevalence of psoriasis in African Americans: results from a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a common disease with substantial effects on quality of life. The prevalence of psoriasis in African Americans has been previously reported as rare. However, there have been no population-based studies to assess the prevalence and burden of psoriasis in African Americans.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to measure the prevalence and burden of psoriasis in African Americans compared with Caucasians.

METHODS: Patients were randomly selected from the United States population and were asked standard demographic questions. Patients who reported a physician diagnosis of psoriasis were asked additional questions related to quality of life.

RESULTS: The total sample included 27,220 individuals of which 21,921 were Caucasian and 2443 were African American. The prevalence of psoriasis was 2.5% in Caucasian patients and was 1.3% in African American patients. African Americans had an approximately 52% reduction in the prevalence of psoriasis compared with Caucasians ( P < .0001). African Americans and Caucasians had similar impacts on quality of life and treatment satisfaction based on single global questions.

CONCLUSION: Although psoriasis is less common in African Americans than in Caucasians, it is not rare in either demographic and carries a substantial burden in both groups.