Background and objective: Occurrence rates of clinical features of nail psoriasis vary considerably in the literature. Little information is available on subjective complaints of patients affected by psoriasis of the nails.
Method: Interviews with 1,728 psoriatic patients concerning their nail changes and complaints are reviewed.
Results: The results indicate that pitting and deformation are the most common clinical aberrations in psoriatic nails, with a positive association between the duration of skin lesions and nail psoriasis. No relation was found between age and nail psoriasis in this group. Remarkably, 51.8% of patients suffered from pain-caused by the nail changes, and a large group of patients was restricted in their daily activities, housekeeping and/or profession (58.9, 56.1, 47.9%). Treatment was disappointing: only 19.3% showed marked improvement during treatment.
Conclusion: This indicates that psoriasis of the nails is a more important individual and social-economic problem than previously assumed and that development of new treatments is needed.