Strengthening the reporting of genetic risk prediction studies (GRIPS): explanation and elaboration

The rapid and continuing progress in gene discovery for complex diseases is fuelling interest in the potential application of genetic risk models for clinical and public health practice. The number of studies assessing the predictive ability is steadily increasing, but they vary widely in completeness of reporting and apparent quality. Transparent reporting of the strengths and weaknesses of these studies is important to facilitate the accumulation of evidence on genetic risk prediction. A multidisciplinary workshop sponsored by the Human Genome Epidemiology Network developed a checklist of 25 items recommended for strengthening the reporting of Genetic RIsk Prediction Studies (GRIPS), building on the principles established by prior reporting guidelines. These recommendations aim to enhance the transparency, quality and completeness of study reporting, and thereby to improve the synthesis and application of information from multiple studies that might differ in design, conduct or analysis

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with psoriasis: a population-based study in the United Kingdom.

Increasing epidemiological evidence suggests independent associations between psoriasis and cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Our objective was to test the hypothesis that directly assessed psoriasis severity relates to the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components. A population-based, cross-sectional study was undertaken using computerized medical records from the Health Improvement Network Study population including individuals in the age group of 45-65 years with psoriasis and practice-matched controls. The diagnosis and extent of psoriasis were determined using provider-based questionnaires. Metabolic syndrome was defined using the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. A total of 44,715 individuals were included: 4,065 with psoriasis and 40,650 controls. In all, 2,044 participants had mild psoriasis (2% body surface area (BSA)), 1,377 had moderate psoriasis (3-10% BSA), and 475 had severe psoriasis (>10% BSA). Psoriasis was associated with metabolic syndrome, adjusted odds ratio (adj. OR 1.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.31-1.51), varying in a "dose-response" manner, from mild (adj. OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.11-1.35) to severe psoriasis (adj. OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.62-2.43). Psoriasis is associated with metabolic syndrome and the association increases with increasing disease severity. Furthermore, associations with obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, and hyperglycemia increase with increasing disease severity independently of other metabolic syndrome components. These findings suggest that screening for metabolic disease should be considered for psoriasis, especially when it is severe