Effect of Sex in Systemic Psoriasis Therapy: Differences in Prescription, Effectiveness and Safety in the BIOBADADERM Prospective Cohort

Abstract

The effect of sex on systemic therapy for psoriasis has not been well studied. The aim of this study was to analyse a large multicentre Spanish cohort of 2,881 patients with psoriasis (58.3% males), followed from January 2008 to November 2018, to determine whether sex influences prescription, effectiveness of therapy, and the risk of adverse events. The results show that women are more likely than men to be prescribed biologics. There were no differences between men and women in effectiveness of therapy, measured in terms of drug survival. Women were more likely to develop adverse events, but the difference in risk was small and does not justify different management. Study limitations include residual confounding and the use of drug survival as a proxy for effectiveness.

Keywords

• gender
• sex
• gender bias
• sex bias
• psoriasis
• biological therapy
• drug prescription
• drug safety