Impact of Elevated Serum Uric Acid Levels on Systemic Inflammation in Patients With Psoriasis

Abstract

Patients with psoriasis have increased systemic inflammation and serum uric acid (SUA) levels compared with the general population. However, the role of SUA in modulating inflammation in these patients is not known. We evaluated the associations of SUA with inflammation and psoriasis severity; 199 patients with psoriasis and 54 healthy volunteers were included in the study. Demographic features, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores, and laboratory data including SUA, C-reactive protein (CRP), and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were collected. Patients with psoriasis had higher fasting blood glucose, body mass index (BMI), CRP, SUA, white blood cell (WBC) count, neutrophil count, and NLR compared with controls. The PASI score positively correlated only with CRP (r = .185, P = .012) and NLR (r = .313, P < .001). The BMI, WBC count, PASI score, and CRP, but not SUA, appeared as independent associates of NLR in patients with psoriasis in linear regression analysis. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and SUA were significantly increased in patients with psoriasis compared with controls. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and CRP were independent predictors of PASI score, whereas SUA was not. Serum uric acid seemed not to modulate the inflammation seen in patients with psoriasis in our cohort.