Between 2015 and 2017, the Japanese Society for Psoriasis Research conducted a retrospective questionnaire survey of Japanese patients with psoriatic arthritis. The results revealed several characteristics; i) there was a male predominance, ii) the mean age of onset of cutaneous psoriasis was in the late thirties, while that of arthritis was in the late forties, iii) plaque-type psoriasis occupied >90%, iv) polyarthritis or distal interphalangeal type was the most common arthritis type, v) family history of psoriasis was observed in 5-7%, vi) enthesitis was observed >20%, and vii) dactylitis was observed around 60%. Biologics were used in nearly 50% of the psoriatic arthritis patients, and switching to other biologics or discontinuance was seen in 15%. This paper shows the current status of psoriatic arthritis in Japan.
An on-line survey was conducted to elucidate the perception gap between patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and physicians regarding disease burden and treatment satisfaction. The survey enrolled 300 AD patients and 200 physicians. Most of the patients had not discussed their multi-faceted disease burdens with their physician and had not experienced improvement from their treatment. Both patients and physicians tended to be dissatisfied with current AD treatment, but there was a gap between patients and physicians in understanding and communicating the burden of this disease. Patient satisfaction, as measured by TSQM-9, was correlated with patient-assessed scoring of how well the physician understood the patient's situation. These findings indicate the necessity of accurate understanding by physicians of the disease burden of each patient and a commitment to work with patients to reduce that disease burden in the context of AD treatment.