“Take that step. See your dermatologist. We can work together to help you get better,” board-certified dermatologist Dr. Adel Haque encouraged anyone living with psoriasis. Not treating psoriasis — or not treating it adequately — can have negative effects on your overall health and quality of life in both the short and long term.¹

Below are three reasons to take a proactive approach to your psoriasis management.

Sometimes people with psoriasis notice pigmentation changes in their skin after psoriasis lesions heal. This can come in the form of hyperpigmentation (dark areas) or hypopigmentation (light areas). When skin color becomes affected, it’s very difficult to treat.² “Prevention’s always going to be key,” Dr. Haque explained.

“Once we get patients on a biologic for psoriasis, a lot of times they clear up so well that we’re preventing further hyperpigmentation,” Dr. Haque noted.^2,3

Skin color changes can occur in anyone. However, they’re more common and more noticeable in people with darker skin tones.⁴ “[For] patients that are in the darker skin tone range, that hyperpigmentation … can be very long-lasting and can be very disfiguring, almost as bad as their original disease,” Dr. Haque commented. “If you don’t get [psoriasis] under control early, [pigmentation changes] may be there for many years.”

If you do have skin color changes, all hope is not lost. You can take steps to prevent it worsening — by taking a biologic for psoriasis and, notably, by using sunscreen regularly.⁵ “Tinted sunscreens, especially on patients with skin of color, are always going to be the best way to prevent hyperpigmentation from getting any worse or lasting longer,” Dr. Haque said.^5,6

There are also potential treatments for reversing hyperpigmentation that include topical or laser treatments, which you can discuss with a dermatologist, Dr. Haque explained.⁵

Psoriasis can lead to “huge social issues for a lot of people,” Dr. Haque said. “A lot of people will isolate themselves, which can lead to depression” due to embarrassment or shame about their skin.⁷ A 2023 British study found that 35 percent of participants with psoriasis had symptoms of depression and 29 percent had symptoms of anxiety. The vast majority — 84 percent — reported that psoriasis affected their quality of life.⁸

Dr. Haque explained that he sees a big change in attitude when people see results from their treatments. He noted that particularly with biologics, “people can often achieve a lot more [skin] clearance than they do on topicals.”³

As a result, “I see my patients develop confidence, and I see them achieve a positive attitude toward their skin, which they maybe never had since their symptoms started,” Dr. Haque said. This newfound confidence can open up doors in their professional or social life that may have been closed because of psoriasis. That might mean having the self-assurance to seek a new job or ask someone out on a date.

Over time, increased inflammation may lead to other health problems, such as heart disease. It’s believed that inflammation from psoriasis contributes to an increased risk of cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke. People with psoriasis often also have other risk factors that contribute to heart disease, such as hypertension (high blood pressure).¹

Treating psoriasis with systemic treatments like biologics may reduce the likelihood of heart attack and stroke.⁹ “Targeting [psoriasis] from an internal systemic perspective is going to be the only thing that gets rid of that systemic inflammation,” Dr. Haque explained. “Topicals don’t achieve that.”³

Like psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis is an inflammatory condition that can also be treated with biologics. Approximately a third of people with psoriasis will develop psoriatic arthritis.¹

There’s evidence that people with psoriasis who are treated with biologics may be at a decreased risk of developing psoriatic arthritis.¹⁰ Dr. Haque noted that he expects future research to clarify the relationship between treatment with biologics and the development of psoriatic arthritis, as well as other conditions associated with psoriasis.

If you do have psoriatic arthritis, proactive treatment is crucial to avoid serious and possibly irreversible joint damage.¹ Irreversible joint damage can occur in as little as 6 months with psoriatic arthritis.¹¹ “Getting ahead of their arthritis is going to be really important,” Dr. Haque shared. “I’ve seen plenty of my patients lose control of their hands [or have] multiple replacements of joints.”

ABBV-US-01467-MC v1.0 January 2024