Our Cause

Psoriatic disease is a systemic condition affecting multiple body sites. It is a chronic, noncommunicable, painful, disfiguring and disabling disease for which there is no cure. Join our fight!

What is Psoriatic Disease?

You may have heard of psoriasis on the skin or arthritis in the joints, but do you really know what psoriatic disease is?


Psoriatic disease is a systemic condition affecting multiple body sites, predominately the skin, the joints, or both. Psoriatic disease is:

  • Chronic: Psoriatic disease cannot be cured, and the disease can periodically relapse.
  • Noncommunicable: Psoriatic disease is not contagious.
  • Painful: Chronic inflammation leads to pain, especially joint and back pain.
  • Disfiguring: Psoriatic disease, especially in its severe forms, can cause permanent disfigurement.
  • Disabling: If left untreated or if treated inadequately, the chronic joint inflammation can lead to permanent disability.
  • Inflammatory: Psoriatic disease is an immune-mediated disease where chronic inflammation causes damage in multiple body sites and may contribute to depression.


Skin and joint symptoms are different manifestations of the same disease. They may manifest independently. A third of people with skin manifestations of psoriatic disease (psoriasis) will develop a type of inflammatory arthritis affecting joints and tendons (psoriatic arthritis). In some people, joint symptoms develop before the skin lesions.

In addition to skin and joint symptoms, psoriatic disease is characterized by increased risk of developing related noncommunicable diseases. The most common comorbidities are obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes (collectively referred to as metabolic syndrome), cardiovascular disease, and inflammatory bowel disease. Moreover, psoriatic disease has a major impact on mental health and quality of life.


Psoriatic disease is more than skin deep.

Dig Deeper

Get the full picture. Inside Psoriatic Disease is a series of reports that illuminates psoriatic disease beyond the skin and joints. Stay tuned for new reports on topics like heart disease, disability, and IBD.

report Advocacy, Comorbidities, Reports

Inside Psoriatic Disease: Diabetes

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report Advocacy, World Psoriasis Day, Comorbidities, Stigma, Living with Psoriatic Disease, About Psoriatic Disease

Inside Psoriatic Disease: Mental Health

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Why we fight

Psoriatic disease has many consequences.

  • Physical: Many people struggle with the symptoms of psoriatic disease, as they might feel pain a lot of the time, experience constant itching or burning and tiredness. Psoriatic disease comorbidities also significantly impact health. While there are treatment options, it can take a long time to find the treatment that works best for each individual.
  • Emotional: Psoriatic disease can be hard to deal with because of the stigma and prejudice attached to the disease. Depression and anxiety are prevalent among people living with psoriatic disease.
  • Social: Living with psoriatic disease can have a big impact on relationships with family, friends, partners, co-workers or fellow students. Many people with psoriatic disease report feeling unsupported. Persistent myths about psoriatic disease such as that people with the disease are “unclean”, that they “caused their own psoriasis” or that the disease is contagious, are untrue.
  • Economic: There are significant costs associated with psoriatic disease. The medication may be very expensive or not covered by insurance providers. Absenteeism and presenteeism are higher in people with psoriatic disease compared to the general population. The presence of comorbidities increases the costs. All of this may contribute to economic challenges.
In 2014

the United Nations unanimously approved the Resolution on Psoriasis and made a commitment to enact policy change improving the lives of everyone living with psoriatic disease. IFPA unites the global community to fight for that progress.


Skin manifestations of psoriatic disease can be of different types – plaque, inverse, guttate, pustular and erythrodermic – and have different characteristics.


Psoriatic disease can affect any joint, tendon or ligament, causing pain, stiffness, and swelling.

No, psoriatic disease is not contagious. Because you cannot catch psoriatic disease from someone else, there is no need at all to avoid people with psoriatic disease – you can hug them, hang out with them, go swimming, borrow each other’s clothes, hold their hand, have fun together, … just like with anyone else!

No, not yet. Psoriatic disease is a chronic illness and often requires lifelong treatment.

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