Patient Input Shapes Family Planning Care in Psoriasis

TOPLINE:

A cross-sectional survey of patients with psoriasis found that the majority expressed concerns regarding fertility, heredity, and the safety of psoriasis treatments during family planning or pregnancy and preferred to receive guidance from dermatologists or GPs at diagnosis or during medication changes.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire study including adult female and male patients with psoriasis, regardless of their treatment type.
• An online questionnaire was developed using the Castor Electronic Data Capture System in collaboration with specialists and patient representatives.
• Questions covered disease characteristics, treatment experiences in the period trying to conceive or during pregnancy, and experiences and preferences regarding information provision on family planning and pregnancy (FPP).
• Researchers analysed responses from 102 participants (69.6% women and 30.4% men). Among the female respondents, 33 had (biolog­ical) children, 37 had no children, and one was pregnant for the first time at the moment of questionnaire com­pletion.

TAKEAWAY:

• Patients identified dermatologists and GPs as their preferred sources for information about FPP.
• Of all respondents who obtained information about FPP, 7.9% reported having “complete access,” 42.1% reported having “enough access,” 42.1% reported having “moderate access,” and 7.9% reported having “insuffi­cient access” to information.
• Information needs focused on fertility, heredity of psoriasis, use of medication, and, specifically for females, disease course during and after pregnancy and breastfeeding.
• Patients with prior biologic therapy more often requested fertility information than those without (70.8% vs 40.6%; P = .026). Parents also more frequently sought guidance on fertility (79.3% vs 44.4%) and medication use during conception and/or pregnancy (72.4% vs 37.0%; P = .008 for both) than non-parents.
• Timing preferences for receiving information about FPP included the moment of diagnosis and medication changes or upon explicit request. Disease activity improved in 61.7% of completed pregnancies, and it increased in 46.7% of cases postpartum.

IN PRACTICE:

“In conclusion, the findings of this study have led to hands-on guidance for healthcare professionals to improve healthcare for both male and female patients with psoriasis in the reproductive age,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Liana Barenbrug, Department of Dermatology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. It was published online on July 30, 2025, in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment.

LIMITATIONS:

This study overrepresented biologic-treated patients and relied on self-reported data, which may be subject to recall bias. Additionally, none of the respondents used systemic medication during conception or pregnancy, limiting insights into this important subgroup of patients.

DISCLOSURES:

This study did not receive any funding. Some authors reported receiving research grants and speaking fees and having other ties with various sources.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.