Psoriasis patients face increased cataract risk, study finds

A retrospective cohort study by Yan-Jie Su and colleagues from Taipei Veterans General Hospital, published in The Journal of Dermatology on October 26, 2026, reveals that psoriasis patients face increased risks of cataracts and cataract surgery, with adjusted hazard ratios of 1.32 and 1.41. Risk varies by treatment: psoralen plus ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B phototherapy increase cataract odds, while systemic biologics and conventional DMARDs reduce risk.

Psoriasis increases risk of cataracts

• ▪A Taipei Veterans General Hospital study evaluated 61,622 newly diagnosed psoriasis patients matched by age, sex, and index year with 61,622 nonpsoriasis controls to analyze cataract risks.
• ▪A Taipei Veterans General Hospital study published in The Journal of Dermatology found that psoriasis patients face an increased risk of developing cataracts, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.32.
• ▪A retrospective cohort study published in The Journal of Dermatology found that psoriasis patients have an increased risk of undergoing cataract surgery, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.41.
• ▪A study in The Journal of Dermatology found that increased risks for cataracts and cataract surgery among psoriasis patients were consistent across age, sex, and psoriatic arthritis status.

Phototherapy linked to cataract risk

• ▪A nested case-control analysis of psoriasis patients revealed no clear dose-response relationship between phototherapy exposure and the risk of developing cataracts.
• ▪A Taipei Veterans General Hospital study found that psoralen plus ultraviolet A phototherapy in psoriasis patients was associated with increased odds of developing cataracts, with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.88.
• ▪A study published in The Journal of Dermatology found that ultraviolet B phototherapy in psoriasis patients was associated with increased odds of cataract development, with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.22.

Systemic treatments reduce cataract odds

• ▪A Taipei Veterans General Hospital study found that conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs were associated with lower odds of cataract development in psoriasis patients, with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.74.
• ▪A nested case-control study found that systemic psoriasis therapies, including biologics and conventional DMARDs, demonstrated protective associations against cataract surgery similar to their effects on cataract incidence.
• ▪A study in The Journal of Dermatology found that systemic treatments with biologics or Janus kinase inhibitors were associated with reduced odds of cataracts in psoriasis patients, with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.49.