Tonsillectomy may lower risk of psoriasis

Patients who received tonsillectomy have a lower risk of psoriasis, reports a study, following adjustment for baseline characteristics, comorbidities, and medical confounders relative to a comparison group.

A team of investigators used data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. They identified 2,201 patients in the tonsillectomy group (case group) and 8,084 individuals in the tonsillectomy-free group (comparison group), matched at a ratio of 1:4 by demographic data, comorbidities, medical confounders, and the index date.

Finally, the investigators estimated the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 percent confidence intervals (CIs) using Cox proportional hazards models.

The adjusted HR of psoriasis in the case group was 0.43 (95 percent CI, 0.22–0.87; p<0.05). The study population consisted mainly of male (65 percent) and young individuals (mostly aged <50 years).

In addition, patients with rheumatoid arthritis were found to be at greater risk of psoriasis (adjusted HR, 3.97, 95 percent CI, 1.17–13.48; p<0.05). However, the stratification analysis showed a decreased risk of psoriasis in almost all subgroups.

“Our study showed a decreased risk of psoriasis in the tonsillectomy group after adjustment for baseline characteristics, comorbidities, and medical confounders compared with the reference group,” the investigators said.

Notably, this study was limited by the lack of information on genome and subtypes of psoriasis.

“Tonsillectomy has been suggested as an intervention to resolve psoriasis,” the investigators noted.