Psoriasis patients may be undertreated

The National Psoriasis Foundation and Amgen reported today that a significant portion of people with moderate to severe psoriasis may be undertreating their disease. A new analysis of their surveys of recent years found:

* Nearly 40 percent of patients surveyed with chronic moderate or severe psoriasis are not currently receiving any treatment.

* 57 percent of patients with severe psoriasis and 73 percent of patients with moderate psoriasis are receiving topical treatment alone.

These are pretty stunning figures, since there are numerous treatments that could be helping these people. Key unanswered questions: Is this under-treatment being driven by the patients, the doctors or the insurers? (And is it because of economics or something else?) And are these undertreated patients happy or unhappy with their health?

They also found that severe psoriasis may be associated with lower income.

This report is a good reminder to everyone with psoriasis that negatively impacts their daily lives: are you treating your psoriasis appropriately? Might you be happier with a more robust treatment effort? Have you mentioned this to your dermatologist? What do you mean you have not seen your derm for years....!