Negative and positive life experiences in patients with psoriatic arthritis

Abstract

Recent data suggest that childhood and adulthood stressors may play a significant role in the development of an autoimmune disease. The present study explores the relationship between psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and positive and negative life events during childhood and adulthood in psoriatic patients. Forty-five patients with psoriatic arthritis and 101 controls (patients with skin conditions considered to be "non-psychosomatic") were enrolled in the study. All participants completed a specific questionnaire measuring traumatic life experiences [Traumatic Antecedents Questionnaire (TAQ)]. The TAQ assesses positive personal experiences (competence and safety) and negative personal experiences (neglect, separation, secrets, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, trauma witnessing, other traumas and exposure to alcohol/drugs) from early childhood to adulthood. The patients with psoriatic arthritis exhibited lower mean scores of total positive experiences during late childhood (latency) as compared to the control group. Negative experiences during four developmental periods appeared more frequently in patients with psoriatic arthritis than in the controls. The most frequently reported negative experiences were neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, alcohol/drug abuse and other traumas. The present findings add evidence to the relationship between retrospectively reported childhood experiences and psoriatic arthritis. Furthermore, a high amount of reported emotional and physical abuse occurs in patients with psoriatic arthritis during latency and adolescence.

Physical trauma recorded in primary care is associated with the onset of psoriatic arthritis among patients with psoriasis

“…Furthermore, the limited number of patients in our nerve trauma subanalysis may have precluded us from detecting whether or not nerve trauma changes the risk of PsA. A recent study from Simonic et al 27 found psychological traumas were significantly more often present in patients with PsA compared with controls. Nerve trauma, like psychological trauma, may warrant further investigation for an association with PsA.…”

Emotions, Alexithymia, and Emotion Regulation in Patients With Psoriasis

“…Stress managing is pivotal in psoriasis patients because impaired emotional processing could affect not only the response to stressful events but also the quality of the general emotional response in psoriasis. Patients with psoriasis are more sensitive to stress with respect to other dermatological conditions such as acne or melanoma (Jose and Menon, 2017), and patients with psoriatic arthritis report less positive and more negative (stressful) life events during late childhood (Simonić et al, 2013). Stressful events are indeed very often reported by patients as the cause of the appearance or the exacerbation of the disease (Griffiths and Richards, 2001).…”

Nail involvement as a predictor of concomitant psoriatic arthritis in patients with psoriasis

“…Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a psoriasis‐related chronic, systemic inflammatory condition with typical signs and symptoms both of psoriasis and arthritis . Results of two independent studies from Germany have shown an almost similar prevalence of 20·6% and 19·0%, respectively, in patients with psoriasis referring to dermatologists …”