A new study confirms the link between smoking and the development of psoriasis.
Results showed that the risk of psoriasis was higher in smokers than in those who’ve never smoked and that this link was stronger in women than in men. Smoking more than 15 cigarettes a day was strongly associated with pustular lesions.
The multicentre, case controlled study involved outpatients in ten general and ten teaching hospitals in southern and northern Italy. Patients with a first diagnosis of psoriasis and a history of symptoms of less than two years were matched with controls who had a history of skin problems other than psoriasis (Arch Dermatol, 1999; 135: 1479-84).