The risk of depression was significantly increased in patients with SLE and CLE. Awareness of an increased risk of depression in patients with SLE and CLE might be warranted.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a well-known cardiovascular risk factor. Less is known about cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) and the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Therefore, we investigated the risk of mortality and adverse cardiovascular events in patients diagnosed with SLE and CLE. We conducted a cohort study of the entire Danish population aged ≥ 18 and ≤ 100 years, followed from 1997 to 2011 by individual-level linkage of nationwide registries. Multivariable adjusted Cox regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) for a composite cardiovascular endpoint and all-cause mortality, for patients with SLE and CLE. A total of 3282 patients with CLE and 3747 patients with SLE were identified and compared with 5,513,739 controls. The overall HR for the composite CVD endpoint was 1.31 (95% CI 1.16-1.49) for CLE and 2.05 (95% CI 1.15-3.44) for SLE. The corresponding HRs for all-cause mortality were 1.32 (95% CI 1.20-1.45) for CLE and 2.21 (95% CI 2.03-2.41) for SLE. CLE and SLE were associated with a significantly increased risk of CVD and all-cause mortality. Local and chronic inflammation may be the driver of low-grade systemic inflammation.

Monitoring of biological treatment efficacy for psoriasis is based on clinical evaluation and patient's quality of life. However, long-term correlation between Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) in real life has not been studied in patients treated with ustekinumab. All patients with psoriasis treated with ustekinumab at our department were included (n = 120) in this study. Correlation analyses between the change in PASI and DLQI and the individual subquestions in DLQI were performed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. A correlation value of 0.57 (p-value <0.001) and 0.45 (p-value < 0.001) between PASI and DLQI were found in the period baseline - 4 months and baseline - 12 months, respectively. In DLQI subquestions, the greatest association was found for the questions on "Symptoms and feelings". Objective improvements in the severity of psoriasis were weakly to moderately associated with improvements in quality of life in patients with psoriasis treated with ustekinumab.

Recent findings indicate that patients with systemic sclerosis have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. To determine whether patients with systemic sclerosis or localized scleroderma are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, a cohort study of the entire Danish population aged ≥ 18 and ≤ 100 years was conducted, followed from 1997 to 2011 by individual-level linkage of nationwide registries. Multivariable adjusted Cox regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) for a composite cardiovascular disease endpoint. A total of 697 patients with localized scleroderma and 1,962 patients with systemic sclerosis were identified and compared with 5,428,380 people in the reference population. In systemic sclerosis, the adjusted HR was 2.22 (95% confidence interval 1.99-2.48). No association was seen between patients with localized scleroderma and cardiovascular disease. In conclusion, systemic sclerosis is a significant cardiovascular disease risk factor, while patients with localized scleroderma are not at increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Summary Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease, meaning the body's immune system works against the body instead of protecting it. Systemic lupus may not only involve the skin but also internal organs such as lungs, heart, and kidneys, and is potentially a fatal disease, whereas cutaneous lupus is mainly restricted to the skin. It affects women more often than men and symptoms usually first appear when patients are aged in their 30s. This study, from Denmark, investigated if patients with lupus (cutaneous or systemic) have increased risk of depression. By using the unique Danish nationwide registers, the authors found that patients diagnosed with systemic or cutaneous lupus both had a 2‐fold increased risk of a subsequent diagnosis of depression compared with the general population in Denmark. Likewise, the risk of severe depression was increased for patients with cutaneous or systemic lupus. On the other hand, the risk of self‐harm and death from suicide were not significantly increased in patients with lupus. Surprisingly, the risk of depression is of similar magnitude for patients with systemic lupus, a potentially fatal disease, as for patients with cutaneous lupus. This indicates that the involvement of the skin has the same important impact as the systemic disease on the patients’ mental health. It is relevant that both dermatologists and patients know about this significant increase in risk of depression.