The protocol for a patient-driven online prospective European observational cohort aiming to determine risk factors for the development of psoriatic arthritis among people living with psoriasis: the HIPPOCRATES Prospective Observational Study

Background: Up to one-third of people living with psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and the majority have active psoriasis prior to the development of arthritis. Clinical risk factors, such as nail involvement, in conjunction with novel blood biomarkers, could improve PsA risk monitoring and early diagnosis. Objectives: The aim of the HIPPOCRATES Prospective Observational Study (HPOS— www.hpos.study ) is to follow a cohort living with psoriasis and identify risk factors for the development of PsA. Design: HPOS is a patient-driven online prospective European observational cohort. Methods: Adult participants with psoriasis but with no prior diagnosis of PsA are eligible. Participants are invited to provide consent and join the study online. They complete a semi-structured questionnaire to collect data on demographics, psoriasis, comorbidities, risk factors for PsA, and the Psoriasis Epidemiology Screening Tool screening questionnaire. Follow-up is conducted through a questionnaire every 6 months. The primary outcome is the new onset of PsA confirmed by a diagnosis from their doctor. The study will also collect peripheral blood samples from a subset of participants for biomarker identification. Ethics: This study follows the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. To date, ethical approval has been granted by independent ethical committees in 10 countries. Discussion: Studying a cohort of individuals with psoriasis will allow us to identify risk factors for arthritis development and to develop a risk calculator. This can support focused efforts on screening, patient education, and even studies looking to delay or prevent the onset of arthritis. This study, run via remote online data collection, provides an efficient way to recruit a large cohort (25,000) across multiple countries. However, challenges have had to be addressed with some key changes in study design, ethical review, and recruitment strategies required for each individual country. Trial registration: HPOS, Clinicaltrials.gov ID: NCT05858528, IRAS number 325080; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05858528?locStr=United%20Kingdom&country=United%20Kingdom&cond=Psoriasis&term=HPOS&aggFilters=status%3Anot%20rec&rank=1 .

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Journal
Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease
Published
2026-03-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/1759720x251412835
Primary Topic
Spondyloarthritis Studies and Treatments
Type
article
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article

The protocol for a patient-driven online prospective European observational cohort aiming to determine risk factors for the development of psoriatic arthritis among people living with psoriasis: the HIPPOCRATES Prospective Observational Study

Maria Mytilinaiou, A. R. A. RODRIGUES, Axel Svedbom, Nathanael S. Gray et al.
Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease
Spondyloarthritis Studies and Treatments
article

The protocol for a patient-driven online prospective European observational cohort aiming to determine risk factors for the development of psoriatic arthritis among people living with psoriasis: the HIPPOCRATES Prospective Observational Study

Maria Mytilinaiou, A. R. A. RODRIGUES, Axel Svedbom, Nathanael S. Gray, C. Anthony Ryan, Christine V. Möser, Przemysław Kotyla, F. A. Vreju, Jana Hurňáková, Teresa Grohmann, Heidi Bertheussen, Stephen R. Pennington, Theodoros Dimitroulas, Oliver FitzGerald, Rudolf Horváth, Timeo Mtenga, S. Groothuizen, Jean-Guillaume Letarouilly, Michaela Koehm, Rik Lories, Mari Hoff, Glenn Haugeberg, Mikkel Østergaard, Maarten de Wit, Joe Barrett, Carlo Selmi, Tiago Torres, Juan D. Cañete, Marleen G. H. van de Sande, Lars Werner, David Kerr, Laura C. Coates, Liv Eidsmo, Mari Løset, Kurt de Vlam, Burkhard Möller
article en

Abstract

Background: Up to one-third of people living with psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and the majority have active psoriasis prior to the development of arthritis. Clinical risk factors, such as nail involvement, in conjunction with novel blood biomarkers, could improve PsA risk monitoring and early diagnosis. Objectives: The aim of the HIPPOCRATES Prospective Observational Study (HPOS— www.hpos.study ) is to follow a cohort living with psoriasis and identify risk factors for the development of PsA. Design: HPOS is a patient-driven online prospective European observational cohort. Methods: Adult participants with psoriasis but with no prior diagnosis of PsA are eligible. Participants are invited to provide consent and join the study online. They complete a semi-structured questionnaire to collect data on demographics, psoriasis, comorbidities, risk factors for PsA, and the Psoriasis Epidemiology Screening Tool screening questionnaire. Follow-up is conducted through a questionnaire every 6 months. The primary outcome is the new onset of PsA confirmed by a diagnosis from their doctor. The study will also collect peripheral blood samples from a subset of participants for biomarker identification. Ethics: This study follows the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. To date, ethical approval has been granted by independent ethical committees in 10 countries. Discussion: Studying a cohort of individuals with psoriasis will allow us to identify risk factors for arthritis development and to develop a risk calculator. This can support focused efforts on screening, patient education, and even studies looking to delay or prevent the onset of arthritis. This study, run via remote online data collection, provides an efficient way to recruit a large cohort (25,000) across multiple countries. However, challenges have had to be addressed with some key changes in study design, ethical review, and recruitment strategies required for each individual country. Trial registration: HPOS, Clinicaltrials.gov ID: NCT05858528, IRAS number 325080; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05858528?locStr=United%20Kingdom&country=United%20Kingdom&cond=Psoriasis&term=HPOS&aggFilters=status%3Anot%20rec&rank=1 .

Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal DiseaseVol. 18
University College Dublin (IE), Goethe University Frankfurt (DE), University of Bern (CH), University of Copenhagen (DK), Karolinska University Hospital (SE), Humanitas University (IT), Medical University of Silesia (PL), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GR), Université de Lille (FR), Universitair Ziekenhuis Leuven (BE), University Hospital of Bern (CH), Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (GB), Glostrup Hospital (DK), Rigshospitalet (DK), University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova (RO), Karolinska Institutet (SE), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Lille (FR), University of Oxford (GB), Hispanics in Philanthropy (US), University Hospital in Motol (CZ), Rejonowe Przedsiębiorstwo Wodociągów i Kanalizacji W Sosnowcu (Poland) (PL), St Olav's University Hospital (NO), Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia (PT), Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology (DE), Amsterdam Neuroscience (NL), Nova Medical (United States) (US), Hospital Clínic de Barcelona (ES), Hospital de Santo António (PT), Hippocrateon Private Hospital (CY), Consorci Institut D'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi I Sunyer (ES), Institute of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health (PL), Sørlandet Sykehus (NO), IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital (IT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (PT), University of Amsterdam (NL), KU Leuven (BE)
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Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Spondyloarthritis Studies and Treatments
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