Nail involvement in psoriatic arthritis patients is an independent risk factor for carotid plaque.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic, inflammatory and immune-mediated disease that affects up to 30% of psoriasis (PsO) patients.1 Nail involvement affects 80% of PsA patients and 30%–50% of PsO patients. Nail PsO has been associated with worse quality of life, higher score on the PsO Area Severity Index, early disease onset, arthritis, depression and anxiety.2 Patients with PsO and PsA have a higher risk of cardiovascular atherosclerotic morbidity and mortality than the general population. Nail PsO and cardiovascular disease have been seldom studied. Nail involvement in PsO patients has been associated to a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome, higher risk of heart failure and higher cardiovascular risk overall.3 4 If PsA patients with nail PsO also have a higher cardiovascular risk is unknown. We aimed to determine if nail involvement in PsA patients is associated with a higher prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis by carotid ultrasound. We performed a cross-sectional, observational and comparative study that included a total of 64 PsA patients consecutively recruited from …