Mortality, comorbidity risk increased with generalized pustular psoriasis

23 Sep 2026, 21:00 · Medical Xpress

by Elana Gotkine

edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Andrew Zinin

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Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is associated with higher mortality and comorbidity risks than psoriasis vulgaris (PV), according to a study published online Sept. 2 in Frontiers in Immunology. The risks also were higher than those among nonpsoriatic controls.

Teng-Li Lin, M.D., from Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital in Chiayi, Taiwan, and colleagues compared mortality and major comorbidities among individuals with GPP, those with PV and nonpsoriatic individuals. Patients with GPP were matched by propensity score to those with PV and nonpsoriatic controls by age, sex and race in a 1:1 ratio. Among patients with GPP, separate matching was performed for those receiving biologics, conventional antipsoriatic drugs or small-molecule inhibitors versus those receiving systemic corticosteroids alone.

Overall, 6,959 GPP-PV pairs and 28,459 GPP-nonpsoriatic pairs were analyzed after matching. The researchers found that patients with GPP had higher five-year mortality than those with PV and nonpsoriatic controls (hazard ratios, 1.83 and 2.42, respectively).

Compared with patients with PV, patients with GPP had higher risks of major comorbidities, including ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and neurodegenerative disease (hazard ratios, 1.34, 1.62 and 2.94, respectively). Compared with nonpsoriatic controls, they had elevated risks across all evaluated comorbidities. Mortality risks were particularly pronounced among patients older than 60 and men. Biologic therapy was associated with lower mortality than systemic corticosteroids alone among patients with GPP (hazard ratio, 0.71), while conventional antipsoriatic drugs and small-molecule inhibitors were not.

"Together, these findings provide additional real-world evidence on the long-term mortality burden, associated disease risks, and treatment-related outcomes of GPP, addressing important gaps in current evidence for this rare disease," the authors write.

Publication details

Teng-Li Lin et al, Long-term comorbidities and mortality associations with treatment in generalized pustular psoriasis: a multi-institutional cohort study, Frontiers in Immunology (2026). DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1885617

Journal information: Frontiers in Immunology

Key medical concepts

Generalized pustular psoriasisCerebrovascular DisordersMyocardial IschemiaNeurodegenerative Diseases

Clinical categories

Dermatology Who's behind this story?

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Citation: Mortality, comorbidity risk increased with generalized pustular psoriasis (2026, September 23) retrieved 23 September 2026 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-mortality-comorbidity-generalized-pustular-psoriasis.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.