MNN - Mother Nature Network

You've probably heard about the risk factors for Type 2 diabetes: obesity, high cholesterol, insulin resistance, etc.  But you probably haven't heard about the link between a certain skin condition and the blood sugar disorder.  

 

New research has brought forth some rather compelling evidence linking the skin condition psoriasis with Type 2 diabetes. According to the study, which was published in the Archives of Dermatology, patients with psoriasis had an almost four-fold higher risk of developing diabetes than those without the condition.

 

For the study, researchers from the University of California, Davis, analyzed the results of 27 past observational studies and found that people with psoriasis were 59 percent more likely to have diabetes than "control" participants. The studies included patients in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.

 

In particular, those with severe psoriasis were almost twice as likely to have the blood sugar disorder.

 

"Psoriasis is associated with an increased prevalence and incidence of diabetes," the researchers noted. "The association of psoriasis with diabetes may be strongest among patients with severe psoriasis."

 

Related on MNN: Researchers find genes linked to psoriasis