Prevalence of obesity in Japanese psoriatic arthritis patients: A cross-sectional study at a single institution

Abstract Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by skin and joint involvement. Over the past decade, several studies have reported an association between psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and obesity worldwide. However, this relationship has not been fully explored in populations with lower obesity rates and lower psoriasis prevalence, such as the Japanese population. This cross-sectional study evaluated the association between PsA and obesity in 94 Japanese psoriasis patients attending our dermatology department. Obesity was defined as a body mass index ≥30 kg/m 2 , based on the World Health Organization criteria. Among the 94 psoriasis patients, 10 out of 45 (22.0%) PsA patients were obese, compared to only 2 out of 49 (4.1%) non-PsA patients, demonstrating a significant correlation between PsA and obesity in this population ( P < 0.05). Our study highlights the potential role of metabolic syndrome as a common driver for the development of PsA in various populations.