INCREASED PREVALENCE OF SCOLIOSIS IN PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL CASE-CONTROL STUDY

Aim:Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is expected to cause an increased risk of scoliosis because it affects the axial skeleton asymmetrically. In this study, we compared the frequency of scoliosis in PsA patients with that in healthy controls (HC) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) patients. Thus, we aimed to explore whether scoliosis might be a clinical feature of PsA and to assess its potential role in differentiating PsA from axSpA. Material and Methods:The study included 60 PsA patients, 60 axSpA patients and 40 HC. All individuals in the study were assessed for the presence of scoliosis by physical examination. Scoliosis radiography was performed in those with a positive scoliosis test on physical examination. The Cobb angle was measured using the appropriate method. A two-tailed significance level of 0.05 was considered in all analyses. Results:Within this research, the frequency of scoliosis in PsA patients was compared with the axSpA and HC groups. The Cobb angle value was notably higher in the PsA group compared to axSpA and HC (p=0.006 and p=0.007, respectively). On physical examination, scoliosis findings and coronal spinal curvature, were observed at elevated rates in the PsA group relative to the other two groups (p>0.05 for all, indicating no statistical significance). Scoliosis was more frequent in the PsA group than in the axSpA group (p=0.046). All scoliosis cases in PsA were mild or moderate in severity. Conclusion:Both the frequency of scoliosis and Cobb angle values were greater in PsA than those in axSpA. This outcome may be associated with the asymmetric involvement of lateral spinal structures typical of PsA. Overall, these results indicate that scoliosis could serve as a supportive marker for PsA and may aid in differentiating PsA from axSpA.