Study finds link between depression and psoriasis

Taiwanese pharmacologists have identified a high correlation between clinical depression and psoriasis, Tri-Service General Hospital said on Wednesday.

The discovery was part of a larger study into the relationship between depression, eating disorders, psoriasis and sudden sensorineural hearing loss using the National Health Insurance records of 2 million patients, hospital clinical pharmacologist Kao Li-ting (高立庭) told a news conference in

Taipei on Wednesday.

The research team did not comment on the mechanisms linking the conditions.

Previous medical studies conducted abroad have hinted at a connection between depression and skin disorders, but the hospital’s research was the first study that made use of data from Taiwanese patients, Kao said.

The study showed that clinical depression increases the chances of developing psoriasis by 32 percent , while taking prescription drugs to treat depression reduces that risk by 31 percent, Kao said.

Medications covered by the study included tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, said Zhong Pei-xun (鍾佩珣), another pharmacologist at the hospital.

However, anti-depressant usage is linked to a 0.74 per 1,000 increase in sudden hearing loss risks, she said, adding that people using four types of antidepressants are at a higher risk than those on one or two types.

Experiments on mice suggest that sudden hearing loss is a side effect of the medically induced boost to serotonin levels, but steroids can cure this condition between two weeks and a month, Zhong said.

Doctors prescribing antidepressants are advised to monitor their patients for hearing-related changes to guard against the side effect, she added.

The social and economic cost of depression ranks second among global health problems, according to the WHO.

About 1.7 percent of Taiwanese have sought treatment for the disorder since 2018, the research team said.