Raise awareness about psoriasis: National Psoriasis Foundation's call to psoriasis affected Americans

Today is World Psoriasis Day and the National Psoriasis Foundation is asking all Americans affected by psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis to raise awareness about these diseases by going to www.psoriasis.org/wpd and taking action.

Psoriasis, a painful and disfiguring autoimmune disease that appears on the skin, affects an estimated 125 million people worldwide. In the U.S., psoriasis impacts as many as 7.5 million Americans, making it the most prevalent autoimmune disease in the country. Up to 30 percent of people with psoriasis also develop psoriatic arthritis, which causes pain, swelling and stiffness around the joints.

New findings show that psoriasis frequently occurs with a range of other health concerns including Crohn's disease, diabetes, hypertension, heart attack, depression, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, metabolic syndrome and obesity.

"World Psoriasis Day helps draw attention to the seriousness of psoriatic diseases," said Kathleen Gallant, member of the National Psoriasis Foundation Board of Trustees and executive committee secretary of the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations. "Psoriasis not only impacts people physically, but also emotionally and financially as well."

During the sixth annual World Psoriasis Day, awareness activities will occur all over the world to help increase understanding, improve access to treatments and build unity among the psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis community.

To learn more about World Psoriasis Day activities in the U.S., visit www.psoriasis.org/wpd.