Psoriasis Vulgaris in the Guinea Savanah Region of Nigeria

Abstract

Psoriasis vulgaris is an uncommon skin disease among Nigerians. There were only 44 cases out of a total of about 5,250 skin patients (0.8%) seen during the 7-year period from 1977 to 1984 at the consultant skin clinic, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Kaduna, Nigeria. Males were predominant. The age range was 1 1/2 months to 65 years, with a mean age of 29.8 years. The peak incidence was in the 21-30-year group. Clinical features were the same as in Europeans, but morbidity was very low. Arthropathy and nail involvement were rare, comprising only 4.5 and 15.9% of cases, respectively.

Natural History of Psoriasis: A Study from the Indian Subcontinent

“…We found its prevalence to be 2.3% among dermatological patients. Both sexes are equally' affected (1,5,6), but a male preponderance was observed, as in previous studies (4,7,8). In contrast to other studies which have reported the peak age of onset for both sexes to be between 10-20 yrs with another minor peak at or near climacteric (5,9,10), most of our patients were in the age group of 20-49 years with no second peak at climacteric.…”

The prevalence of psoriasis in African Americans: Results from a population-based study

“…In Africa, variations in the prevalence of psoriasis have been observed between West African countries such as Nigeria (0.8%) and East African countries such as Kenya (2.6%). 8,9 It is unclear if these observed variations are caused by genetic or environmental differences or because of bias in the study designs. Our findings confirm previous investigations that have suggested that psoriasis is less common in African Americans than in Caucasians.…”

Epidemiology of Psoriasis

“…Psoriasis has been linked to several diseases, including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, urticaria, liver cirrhosis and cancer [13, 15, 55, 56]. The strongest and best investigated association is with arthritis [13,56,57,58].…”

“…The strongest and best investigated association is with arthritis [13,56,57,58]. Other diseases which have been linked to psoriasis include inflammatory bowel disorder [59] and non-Hodgkin lymphoma [60].…”