Epidemiological profile and associated factors of psoriasis in Yaoundé hospitals, Cameroon

Abstract

Introduction: Psoriasis is an uncommon condition in Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa, prevalence varies depending on the country and studies. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and search for factors associated with the most frequent clinical presentation of psoriasis in our context. Methodology: It was of a retrospective analytical cross-sectional study, over a period of 10 years. We included the files of patients diagnosed with psoriasis. The clinical form of psoriasis, age and comorbidities were collected. The analyzes were carried out using SPSS 22.0 software. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In total, out of 16,943 consultation files, 106 cases of psoriasis were included, i.e. a prevalence of 0.7%. The average age in our population was 38.1 ± 21.4 years with a male predominance, a sex ratio of 1.8. The most common clinical form was psoriasis vulgaris (69.9%). The most common comorbidities were hypertension (4.7%), followed by metabolic syndrome (3.7%), and HIV infection (3.7%). After multivariate analysis, being a pupil or student increased the risk of developing psoriasis vulgaris (7.2[1.1-6]; p<0.046). Conclusion: Psoriasis vulgaris is the most frequent clinical form in the city of Yaoundé, being a pupil or student is a factor associated with common psoriasis.