People with the skin condition psoriasis often have invisible inflammation in the small intestine with an increased propensity for ‘leaky gut’, according to new research at Uppsala University. These changes in the gut could explain why psoriasis sufferers often have gastrointestinal problems and are more prone to developing Crohn’s disease. The study is published in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – Molecular Basis of Disease.

Psoriasis is a hereditary, chronic skin condition that can also result in inflammation of the joints. In Sweden, almost 300,000 people live with some form of the condition. Chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), especially Crohn’s disease, are more common in patients with psoriasis than in the rest of the population.