Effects of etanercept treatment on lipid profile in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis: a retrospective cohort study

Treatment with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors may have favourable effects on the lipid profile. This is the first study to assess the impact of etanercept on the lipid profile in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

To investigate the effect of etanercept on the lipid profile after 24 weeks of treatment in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

We conducted a retrospective cohort study reviewing the medical records of 45 consecutive patients who were treated for psoriasis with etanercept between June 2006 and September 2009. Demographic and clinical data were collected. Levels of total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, triglycerides, fasting glucose and C-reactive protein were recorded at the start of etanercept and at week 24.

Levels of total cholesterol, LDL-C and triglycerides increased after 24 weeks of treatment with etanercept, with mean differences of 7.1 mg/dL (p\=0.505), 2.0 mg/dL (p\=0.718) and 2.8 mg/dL (p\=0.180), respectively. HDL-C decreased, with a mean difference of -1.4 mg/dL (p\=0.995). None of these changes were statistically significant.

We found no favourable changes on the lipid profile after 24 weeks of treatment with etanercept in responding patients with chronic plaque psoriasis.