Abstract

Background: Psoriasis is a long lasting autoimmune disease characterized by patches of abnormal skin. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to complete body coverage.
Objectives: To determine the phenotypes and severity of psoriasis with its relation to some socio-demographic characteristics of a sample from a teaching hospital.
Methods: Cross sectional study conducted in the dermatology clinic of Al-Imamein Al-Kadhimaein Medical City during the period from March 15th till August 15th 2019. A consecutive sample of psoriatic patient at age above 18 years from both sexes was included. Every patient was interviewed by the investigator using a specially prepared questionnaire for this study as well as to the standardized Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) Score.
Results and conclusion: The study included 107 psoriatic patients nearly half of them (47.7%) were under 35 years of age, with males and females were equally distributed. The commonest phenotype of psoriasis was plaque psoriasis mostly affecting the limbs, followed by scalp psoriasis. Less than quarter (21.5%) of the participants had moderate to severe psoriasis according to PASI Score. Almost all the patients use both topical and systemic treatment and positive family history of psoriasis was reported in 31.8% of the participants.