Correlation between Zinc and Iron with Psoriatic Patients in Al-Anbar Governorate

Abstract

Psoriasis is a common chronic, immune-mediated, inflammatory disease of the skin. It is relapsing, non-contagious disorder characterized by red patchy lesions, with grey or silvery-white, dry scales. Lesions are typically distributed symmetrically on the scalp, elbows, knees and essentially any part of the body. It is a disease with an unpredictable course, prone for flareups and remissions and can affect the joints and nails. The study included 60 patients (35 male and 25 female) and 30 healthy individuals (18 male and 12 female) as a control group. Their ages ranged from 10 to 60 years with a mean of 32 years. All had psoriatic lesions that involved less than 30% of body surface. Family history of psoriasis was positive in a percentage of (20%) of the patients. The majority of patients (n= 60, 100%) had plaque type psoriasis. The duration of disease ranged between 1 month to 30 years with a mean of 6.9 years. The sera of patients and control were collected in the dermatologist clinic and tested for the concentration of zinc and iron. The statistical analysis results showed a significant decrease in the concentrations of iron and zinc for psoriatic patients compared with healthy individuals.