Subclinical psoriatic arthritis: concepts, dilemmas, and research needs - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #Psoriatic Arthritis
- #Subclinical Disease
- #Rheumatology
- Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) affects up to one-third of psoriasis patients, with growing interest in a subclinical phase before overt arthritis.
- Subclinical PsA is defined as arthralgia and/or imaging abnormalities without clinical synovitis, but lacks validated biomarkers, leading to risk stratification challenges and potential overtreatment.
- Lessons from rheumatoid arthritis show both potential and pitfalls in applying prevention paradigms to subclinical disease.
- Key research priorities include longitudinal psoriasis cohorts, advanced imaging, and multiomic biomarker discovery to improve risk-stratification models.
- Caution is needed against overexpanding the 'subclinical' concept to avoid overdiagnosis and ensure focus on early, accurate identification of clinically meaningful PsA.