Psoriasis associated with diabetes and atherosclerosis, aka hardening of the arteries

A new study has found "a higher occurrence of diabetes and atherosclerosis in psoriasis patients compared to patients without psoriasis." But the study did not attempt to take account of the higher rates of smoking and obesity that have been found in psoriasis patients as compared to the general population--differences that could fully explain the higher rates of diabetes and atherosclerosis the researchers found here.

A study that would actually be helpful would compare groups of people as similar as possible in terms of smoking, weight, and other key risk factors for these other ailments, with the only notable difference being that one group would be comprised of people with psoriasis and the other group would exclude anyone with psoriasis. Then we could start to see if psoriasis itself is a risk factor for diabetes, etc.