Page 70 - JCTR-11-4

Journal of Clinical and

Translational Research

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Impact of treatment adherence on psoriasis

severity: Insights from a multicenter cross-
sectional study in Brazil

Kauê Cézar Sá Justo , Fernando Henrique Teixeira Zonzini , Aguinaldo
Bonalumi Filho , Anber Ancel Tanaka , Jessica Scherer Dagostini , Rogerio
Nabor Kondo , Adriane Reichert Faria , João Batista Calixto , Daniela
Almeida Cabrini , and Michel Fleith Otuki*
Department of Pharmacology, Federal University of Parana, Curitiba, Brazil

Abstract
Background: Psoriasis is a chronic, non-contagious inflammatory skin disease with
significant physical and quality-of-life impacts. In Brazil, its estimated incidence is
1.3%. Due to the complexity of the disease, effective management requires addressing
multiple factors, with treatment adherence and persistence being critical challenges.
Aim: To evaluate the correlation between psoriasis severity and treatment adherence
and persistence among patients in Paraná, Brazil. Methods: This cross-sectional
study included 133 psoriasis patients treated at the three primary specialized
care centers in the state, between January 28, 2022, and December 9, 2022.
*Corresponding author: Results: A negative correlation (−0.102, rs² = 1.04%) was observed between psoriasis
Michel Fleith Otuki severity and treatment adherence. Conversely, there was a positive correlation
(otuki@ufpr.br) (0.2444, rs² = 5.97%) between psoriasis severity and treatment discontinuation
Citation: Sá Justo KC, Zonzini FHT, history. Conclusion: Treatment interruptions were correlated with increased
Filho AB, et al. Impact of treatment psoriasis severity, whereas higher adherence was associated with milder clinical
adherence on psoriasis severity:
Insights from a multicenter cross- manifestations. Relevance for patients: These findings underscore the critical role
sectional study in Brazil. J Clin of consistent treatment adherence in managing psoriasis. Interruptions in treatment
Transl Res. 2025;11(4):64-73. are linked to more severe forms of psoriasis, highlighting the detrimental effects
doi: 10.36922/jctr.24.00057
of non-adherence. In contrast, patients who maintained high levels of adherence
Received: August 30, 2024 experienced less severe symptoms, emphasizing that consistent treatment is key
Revised: November 2, 2024 to improved disease control. Strengthening patient-provider collaboration and
adherence strategies can improve clinical outcomes and enhance quality of life.
Accepted: March 26, 2025
Published online: July 2, 2025
Keywords: Psoriasis; Treatment adherence; Treatment persistence; Disease severity
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s).
This is an open-access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons AttributionNon-
Commercial 4.0 International (CC 1. Introduction
BY-NC 4.0), which permits all
non-commercial use, distribution, Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease affecting 0.5 – 11.4%
and reproduction in any medium, of adults and up to 1.4% of children, with no defined sex predilection. In Brazil, the
1
provided the original work is
2
properly cited. estimated prevalence is 1.3%. Psoriasis can manifest at any age, but peak incidence
occurs between 30 – 39 years and 50 – 69 years. Despite available data, approximately
3
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with 81% of countries require more comprehensive epidemiological information on the
regard to jurisdictional claims in disease. 4
published maps and institutional
affiliations.
Volume 11 Issue 4 (2025) 64 doi: 10.36922/jctr.24.00057