Inequalities in access to biological treatments for psoriasis: Results from the Italian Psocare Registry.

BACKGROUND

Limited evidence is available on the impact of socioeconomic factors in drug prescriptions for psoriasis.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate factors influencing prescription of conventional versus biological treatment for psoriatic patients, based on the Psocare registry with a special focus on socioeconomic factors.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study evaluating the baseline data of patients included in the Italian Psocare Registry. All of the consecutive adult patients with a diagnosis of chronic plaque psoriasis (Ps) or psoriatic arthritis and who were prescribed a systemic treatment for Ps at the participating centres were included in this study. Univariate and multivariate analyses of the baseline factors associated with a biologics prescription were performed.

RESULTS

From September 2005 to September 2009, 12,838 patients were identified. A multivariate analysis revealed that, among other factors, completing a level of education higher than lower secondary school and being employed as a manager or a professional were independent factors associated with a biologics prescription at entry in the registry. Additional analyses on the association between these two variables and a severe Ps condition (i.e., psoriasis area and severity index [PASI] score > 20) revealed a significant increasing trend of severe disease towards lower educational attainment, while unemployed patients were more likely to have a more severe condition as compared to the other categories of workers.

CONCLUSIONS

We documented inequalities of drug prescriptions for Ps in Italy, with a trend towards a higher frequency of prescription for more expensive biologics in higher socio-economic sectors of the population. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.