Psoriasis is one of the most common dermatological disorders. The association between alcohol consumption and psoriasis has been inconsistent among studies. To examine the magnitude of the risk of developing psoriasis for drinking populations compared to those with non-drinking, and to determine causes of the variation in odds ratios (OR) between various case-control studies, we performed a comprehensive published work search and a meta-analysis of case-control studies considering prevalence. We did electronic searches on Medline, and searched reports to identify case-control studies of prevalent of psoriasis. We did meta-analyses of study-specific incremental estimates to determine the risk of psoriasis associated with drinking. The magnitude of the OR was analyzed by combining 15 case-control studies that matched defined criteria. The variance in OR between studies was explored. The overall OR of psoriasis for drinking persons compared to those with non-drinking was 1.531 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.164-2.014, P = 0.002) and the association remains statistically significant across a number of stratified analyses in European descent subgroup (OR = 1.432, 95% CI = 1.085-1.889, P = 0.011) and also persists in sensitivity analyses performed to assess the potential effect of varying psoriasis outcome definitions. Alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk of psoriasis. These epidemiological observations should inform the exploration of biological mechanisms that link alcohol consumption with psoriasis.
© 2012 Japanese Dermatological Association.