TOPLINE:

In a cross-sectional analysis, glycoprotein acetyls — an inflammatory marker — was associated with psoriasis, and phenylalanine was highlighted as a potential biomarker for joint involvement in this disease.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 470,352 individuals of White ethnicity or European ancestry (46% men) with available metabolomics data from the UK Biobank (n = 453,428; median age, 58 years) and HUNT (n = 16,924; median age, 53 years).
• Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to quantify metabolite levels from non-fasting plasma samples in the UK Biobank and non-fasting serum samples in HUNT, covering lipoprotein fractions and subfractions, fatty acids, and small molecular metabolites.
• Overall, 2.3% of individuals from the UK Biobank and 6.0% from HUNT had psoriasis prior to blood sampling.
• Outcomes included associations between circulating metabolic markers and psoriasis, disease severity, psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and six other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs).

TAKEAWAY:

• After adjustment for age and sex, 123 metabolic measures were associated with psoriasis in both the UK Biobank and HUNT; however, after full adjustment for BMI, smoking status, and the use of lipid-lowering medications, only glycoprotein acetyls remained significantly associated with psoriasis (coefficient, 0.09; 95% CI, 0.07-0.11 in the UK Biobank and coefficient, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.06-0.17 in HUNT).
• In HUNT, severe psoriasis exhibited more pronounced metabolic alterations than non-severe psoriasis, particularly in lipid profiles and glycoprotein acetyls level elevation.
• Phenylalanine levels were highly elevated in PsA vs cutaneous-limited psoriasis across both populations (coefficient, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.29-0.60 in the UK Biobank and coefficient, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.28-0.67 in HUNT).
• In both populations, atopic dermatitis and cutaneous-limited psoriasis exhibited milder metabolic alterations compared with other IMIDs; in HUNT, psoriasis showed a distinct lipoprotein profile, including intermediate-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and very-low-density lipoprotein compositions.

IN PRACTICE:

"[The study] findings enhance our understanding of psoriasis pathophysiology and provide a foundation for future metabolomics research in psoriasis," the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Alya G.A. Arham, HUNT Center for Molecular and Clinical Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, NTNU-Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. It was published online on March 30, 2026, in the British Journal of Dermatology.

LIMITATIONS:

The cross-sectional design limited causal or prognostic interpretation of the findings. The potential misclassification of IMIDs existed. The study included only individuals of White ethnicity or European ancestry, thereby limiting generalisability to more diverse populations.

DISCLOSURES:

This study was supported by grants from the Liaison Committee for Education, Research and Innovation in Central Norway and the Joint Research Committee between St. Olav's Hospital and the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, NTNU-Norwegian University of Science and Technology, with additional support through a National Institute for Health and Care Research Senior Investigator Award. The authors reported having no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.