
This second article in the Psoriasis Series looks at how many people have psoriasis (prevalence) and what these people have in common. Research into the common factors associated with an illness helps identify risk factors for a disease, such as psoriasis. Once we know the risk factors, we can begin making changes to nutrition, lifestyle and behaviours. These changes will help to reduce the symptoms of psoriasis. Read more about what we know about the risk factors for psoriasis.
Figure 1: The Global Prevalence of Psoriasis

The Prevalence of Psoriasis: A Summary.
Information on the prevalence helps to identify factors that may increase or the risk of, or protect against, psoriasis.
The number of people with psoriasis (prevalence) varies between countries, although it is more common in high-income countries
The countries in Europe, North America and Australasia have the highest number of people with psoriasis
The prevalence of psoriasis in the UK is approximately 2.4% of the adult population
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1. Rosa Parisi, Deborah P.M. Symmons2,3, Christopher E.M. Griffiths4, Darren M. Ashcroft1 (2013) Global Epidemiology of Psoriasis: A Systematic Review of Incidence and Prevalence Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2013) 133, 377–385; doi:10.1038/jid.2012.339 (on behalf of the Identification and Management of Psoriasis and Associated ComorbidiTy (IMPACT) project team)
2. Parisi R, Iskandar I, Kontopantelis E, Augustinn E, et al. (2020) on behalf of the Global Psoriasis Atlas. National, regional, and worldwide epidemiology of psoriasis: a systematic analysis and modelling study. BMJ;369:m1590 | doi: 10.1136/bmj.m15902
3. I Iskandar iD ,1,2 R. Parisi iD ,2,3 C.E.M. Griffiths,2,4 and D.M. Ashcroft1,2 on behalf of the Global Psoriasis. Atlas Systematic review examining changes over time and variation in the incidence and prevalence of psoriasis by age and gender British Journal of Dermatology (2021) 184, pp243–258