IFPA, ILDS and IPC launch first-ever global epidemiological psoriasis database

Oct 4 2016

Today’s Global Psoriasis Atlas (GPA) launch will create the first-ever, comprehensive global database on psoriasis. It responds to an urgent World Health Organization call to fill global knowledge gaps on the incidence and prevalence of this serious non-communicable disease. The GPA partnership comprises the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA), the International League of Dermatological Societies (ILDS) and the International Psoriasis Council (IPC), who together represent patients, health professionals and scientists.

The GPA will be the leading online epidemiological database on psoriasis. By detailing the disease prevalence and incidence worldwide, it will enable extensive global comparisons between countries and across time. The GPA will evolve to provide data on the burden of psoriasis, including societal costs, comorbid diseases and patients’ access to treatment. The project partners are planning long-term: “The GPA project is about driving constant improvement in our understanding of psoriasis and encouraging long-term data collection. I believe this to be a project of paramount importance as we seek to determine the natural history and burden of psoriasis across the globe.” says Prof. Christopher Griffiths, President of the IPC. By synthesizing existing knowledge in one single location, the GPA will have the power to present researchers and policy makers with important global insights that standalone research projects are unable to provide.

The GPA project comes in response to the 2016 WHO Global Report on Psoriasis. The report highlighted how the current lack of psoriasis data contributes to the suffering caused by the disease. Published studies on psoriasis prevalence vary markedly in their estimate, citing figures as low as 0.09% or as high as 11.4%. Current psoriasis data are derived from a mere 20 countries. This limited sample particularly obscures the situation in low and middle-income settings. Previous psoriasis studies also often lacked a standardized case-definition or methodology. As a result, current knowledge on psoriasis’ global severity and spread remains limited.

To tackle this knowledge deficit, partnering organizations IFPA, ILDS and IPC will now create the Global Psoriasis Atlas. For the first time, this comprehensive database will reveal the full global picture of psoriasis. In turn, this will improve researchers’ understanding of psoriasis, facilitate disease control and enable successful healthcare planning. “By gathering data on psoriasis from as many countries as possible, we will be able to achieve better decision-making on the use of resources,” says Prof. Harvey Lui, President of the ILDS. The ultimate beneficiary of the GPA, however, are the more than 125 million psoriasis patients and their families worldwide. At the moment, the severity of their chronic, painful, non-communicable disease often remains unacknowledged. “Only once we truly understand the burden of psoriasis, will we be able to command the recognition that people living with psoriasis deserve,” states Mr. Lars Ettarp, President of IFPA.

IFPA, ILDS and IPC are looking forward with anticipation to Phase 1 of the GPA project. This phase will comprehensively review the available psoriasis literature and data to compile a global epidemiological overview. Phase 2 of the project will work out a rigorous methodology and set criteria for future psoriasis epidemiological work. Together, these phases will establish the GPA as the definitive real-time record of psoriasis epidemiology worldwide.