FRIDAY, June 15 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with psoriasis have significantly higher odds for having at least one of 14 other autoimmune diseases, according to a study published online June 4 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Jashin J. Wu, M.D., from the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, and colleagues retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 25,341 patients with two or more diagnosis codes for any psoriatic disease. Each case was matched on the basis of age, sex, and length of enrollment to five controls who did not meet case definitions for psoriasis.

The researchers found that patients with psoriasis were more likely to have at least one (odds ratio [OR], 1.6; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.5 to 1.7) or two other autoimmune diseases (OR, 1.9; 95 percent CI, 1.6 to 2.4). Fourteen of the 17 conditions evaluated had statistically significant associations. Rheumatoid arthritis had the strongest association (OR, 3.6; 95 percent CI, 3.4 to 3.9).

"The study suggests a genetic or environmental cause common across autoimmune diseases," the authors write.

Two authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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