Psoriasis in Pediatric Age Group

Abstract

Psoriasis is a common, chronic, immune-mediated, multisystem, inflammatory disorder. It affects all age groups, including infancy. In one-third of the cases, the onset of the disease is in the first and second decades of life. Childhood psoriasis significantly affects the quality of life of the child as well as that of the entire family. Pediatric psoriasis has distinct clinical presentations and evolves with time. Like in adults, chronic plaque psoriasis has been found to be the most common type of childhood psoriasis. Psoriatic plaques in children are less pruritic, smaller and thinner with less prominent scaling. In pigmented skin, the erythema is less prominent and plaques appear violaceous or hyperpigmented. Pediatric psoriasis can be associated with arthritis, metabolic syndrome, depression and anxiety. Hence all children should be screened routinely for associated comorbidities. Management of pediatric psoriasis is challenging owing to the limitation of approved therapies. 'Proactive therapy' is a recent approach in childhood-onset psoriasis that would help to prevent the severity of flare-ups, thus improving the quality of life.