Fig. 2
Frequency of metabolic risk factors and MetS in psoriatic patients and control group. The psoriatic patients exhibited statistically significant differences compared with controls for all the parameters of the MetS. In particular: WC (72.8 vs 51.1 %; χ2 = 17.0, p < 0.001), SBP/DBP (44.4 vs 31.1 %; χ2 = 6.3, p < 0.001), triglycerides (63.9 vs 22.8 %; χ2 = 60.3, p < 0.001), HDL-C (61.7 vs 30.6 %; χ2 = 33.8, p = 0.012); glucose (63.9 vs 47.8 %; χ2 = 8.8, p = 0.003) and MetS presence/absence (65.0 vs 31.7 %; χ2 = 38.7, p < 0.001); in psoriatic patients and control group, respectively. According to the NCEP ATP III definition, the MetS is defined as the coexistence of three or more of the following findings: (1) increased WC (≥102 cm for men and ≥88 cm for women), (2) hypertension (SBP/DBP ≥130/85 mmHg), (3) hypertriglyceridaemia (≥150 mg/dl), (4) low HDL cholesterol levels (≤40 mg/dl for men and ≤50 mg/dl for women) and (5) elevated fasting plasma glucose (≥100 mg/dl). Results are expressed as percentage. The Chi square (χ2) test was used to test the significance of differences between the two groups. A p value in bold type denotes a significant difference (p < 0.05). WC waist circumference, SBP systolic blood pressure, DBP diastolic blood pressure, HDL-C high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, MetS metabolic syndrome