Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Aug 12;30(1):739.
doi: 10.1186/s40001-025-03002-7.

Association between metabolic score for visceral fat and psoriasis: findings from NHANES

Xinyi Shao #  1 , Yi Ou #  1 , Qian Liu  1 , Yidian Fu  2 , Yan Pan  3 , Aijun Chen  4 , Genlong Bai  5 , Jingbo Zhang  6
Affiliations

Association between metabolic score for visceral fat and psoriasis: findings from NHANES

Xinyi Shao et al. Eur J Med Res. .

Abstract

Background: Psoriasis is a persistent inflammatory skin condition. Several studies have revealed that obesity significantly contributes to both the initiation and advancement of psoriasis. The metabolic score for visceral fat (METS-VF) represents an innovative measure designed to forecast visceral obesity, integrating factors such as insulin resistance metabolic score, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), age, and gender. The present study aimed to investigate the association between METS-VF and psoriasis prevalence, using information gathered from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Methods: This study utilized the data from a nationally representative cohort of 8023 adults from NHANES from 2003-2006 to 2009-2014, of which 234 declared a psoriasis history. Multivariate logistic regression analysis and restricted cubic spline (RCS) analyses were used to investigate the association between METS-VF and psoriasis, followed by subgroup analysis to identify populations that may exhibit higher sensitivity.

Results: After adjusting for confounding variables, the results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed a significant positive association between METS-VF and the risk of psoriasis. One-unit increasement in METS-VF corresponded to a 47% rise in psoriasis risk (odds ratio [OR] = 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.10-1.96). Finally, the results were uniform across all subgroups (P for interaction > 0.05). The results from the RCS analysis indicated a notable linear association.

Conclusion: This research indicated that elevated levels of METS-VF are linked to a higher occurrence of psoriasis, suggesting the potential of METS-VF as a predictive anthropometric index for assessing the risk of developing psoriasis.

Keywords: Cross-sectional study; Metabolic score for visceral fat; NHANES; Psoriasis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The NHANES protocol received approval from the NCHS and the Ethics Review Board, and all participants provided written informed consent. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of the inclusion and exclusion process for participants in the NHANES database from 2003 to 2006 and 2009 to 2014. METS-VF metabolic score for visceral fat, NHANES National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The dose–response associations between the METS-VF and psoriasis. The solid blue line represents the estimates for the association of METS-VF with psoriasis, and shaded area is the 95% CI
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Stratified analysis of the association between METS-VF and psoriasis in adults in the NHANES 2003–2006 and 2009–2014
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Ghoreschi K, Balato A, Enerbäck C, Sabat R. Therapeutics targeting the IL-23 and IL-17 pathway in psoriasis. Lancet. 2021;397(10275):754–66. - PubMed
    1. Takeshita J, Grewal S, Langan SM, Mehta NN, Ogdie A, Van Voorhees AS, et al. Psoriasis and comorbid diseases: Implications for management. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2017;76(3):393–403. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Griffiths CEM, Armstrong AW, Gudjonsson JE, Barker J. Psoriasis. Lancet. 2021;397(10281):1301–15. - PubMed
    1. Li DP, Han YX, He YS, Wen Y, Liu YC, Fu ZY, et al. A global assessment of incidence trends of autoimmune diseases from 1990 to 2019 and predicted changes to 2040. Autoimmun Rev. 2023;22(10): 103407. - PubMed
    1. Zeng J, Luo S, Huang Y, Lu Q. Critical role of environmental factors in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. J Dermatol. 2017;44(8):863–72. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources