Who gets psoriasis?

If you have a child with psoriasis, will your other children also develop it? Where in the world does psoriasis most commonly occur? How common is psoriasis? Read on to find out.

At what age is psoriasis most likely to first appear?
There are two peak periods when psoriasis tends to appear for the first time: 16 to 22 years and 57 to 60 years. Between 10% and 15% of new cases start in children less than 10 years old.

Where in the world is psoriasis most common?
The incidence of psoriasis varies with race, geography, and environment. The country with the highest known rate of psoriasis is Norway (4.8%). The rate is 2.6% in the United States and is probably similar in Canada. In Newfoundland, the incidence of psoriasis is as high as 3% of the population. Scandinavia and Western Europe also have higher-than-average rates. People with lower-than-average rates include Japanese, West Africans, and North Americans of African descent. Psoriasis is extremely rare in the indigenous (native) peoples of North and South America.

Does psoriasis affect females more than males?
No. Psoriasis affects an equal number of adult men and women. In children and teens, plaque psoriasis affects a greater number of females, but this is just because the condition develops earlier in females.

Will the siblings of a child with psoriasis also develop the condition?
Possibly. People with a family history of psoriasis tend to develop psoriasis earlier than others. If a child develops psoriasis before the age of 15, the brothers and sisters of that child have a 3-fold higher risk of getting psoriasis themselves compared to brothers and sisters of people who first got psoriasis after age 30.

All material copyright MediResource Inc. 1996 – 2023. Terms and conditions of use. The contents herein are for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Source: www.medbroadcast.com/healthfeature/gethealthfeature/Psoriasis-Trivia