An observational study of Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with chronic plaque psoriasis

Objectives To determine the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with chronic plaque psoriasis and to determine the association of H. pylori infection with the severity of chronic plaque psoriasis. Patients and methods The prospective case–control pilot study was conducted in the outpatient Department of Dermatology from November 2017 to April 2019. A total of 50 patients with chronic plaque psoriasis and 50 consenting healthy controls were included in the study. A cutaneous examination of the morphology, site, and extent of the lesions was done. Psoriasis area and severity index scores were calculated for all patients. H. pylori stool antigen test was performed for all cases and controls. The data were entered into MS Excel spreadsheet, and analysis was done using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 21.0. Results The mean age of patients with psoriasis was 37.24±11.7 years, with 64% males and 36% females. H. pylori was positive in 24/50 patients with psoriasis. Compared with controls, patients with psoriasis had significantly higher H. pylori positivity rate (48 vs. 26%, P=0.023). Compared with the patients with H. pylori negative status (n=26), H. pylori positivity (n=24) showed significant association with site and disease progression (P=0.016) but not with disease duration (P=0.907). The median psoriasis area and severity index score in H. pylori-positive patients was significantly higher than that in patients with negative H. pylori (13.55 vs. 4.65, P=0.002). Conclusion The small number of patients studied showed that H. pylori infection is associated with psoriasis, with the progression and the severity of psoriasis, bearing a direct association with increased positivity for H. pylori.