People severely¹ afflicted² by psoriasis have a significantly increased risk of dying from heart disease, new research shows.

A Swedish study found that patients hospitalised with the skin disorder³ were 50% more likely to die from a heart condition than expected.

The extra risk increased sharply as patients got younger, rising to 162% for those admitted under the age of 40.

For severe psoriasis sufferers aged⁴ 40-59 when they were hospitalised, the risk was 91% higher than in the average population.

However the same trend was not seen in less seriously affected⁵ individuals who were not admitted to hospital.

The findings emerge from a Swedish study of almost 9,000 psoriasis patients admitted to dermatology wards⁶ and more than 19,000 outpatients.

They suggest a genetic⁷ defect linking the skin condition and heart problems.

Serious psoriasis sufferers are known to have raised levels of blood cholesterol⁸, which is a chief indicator⁹ of heart and artery¹⁰ disease.

Previously¹¹ this was blamed on the age of older patients or the long term effect of drugs used to treat the disorder.

But the Swedish researchers found high cholesterol levels in a group of 600 newly diagnosed patients who had been suffering from psoriasis for less than a year. 

　　中文：

　　近日，瑞典公布的一项最新研究结果显示，那些饱受折磨的牛皮癣患者死于心脏病的可能性要比其他人高很多。

　　据英国《每日邮报》10月29日报道，由瑞典科学家进行的研究发现，对于患牛皮癣病的患者来说，他们实际死于心脏病的概率要比其他人高50%。从年龄角度来看，患者的年龄越小，死于心脏病的风险越大。该项研究所涉及的对象包括约9000名已被确诊并住院接受治疗的牛皮癣患者以及1.9万名无需住院治疗的牛皮癣病病人。

　　瑞典科研人员认为，基因缺陷导致牛皮癣病与心脏病之间建立了“密切”的联系。牛皮癣病患者血液中的胆固醇水平往往较高，而这也是衡量一个人是否患有心脏病或血管疾病的重要指标。以前，人们总是把牛皮癣病患者胆固醇水平高归咎于两种原因：其一，认为可能是由于患者年龄偏大造成的；其二，认为可能是由于为治好牛皮癣病而长期服用有副作用药物造成的。但此次瑞典科研人员在对600名新近被确诊患有牛皮癣且患病时间不足1年的人进行的研究发现，这些患者血液中的胆固醇水平从一开始就很高。

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