A practical inflammatory blood-cell marker for cardiovascular risk stratification in psoriasis: Development of the Platelet-Leukocyte Adjusted Cardiovascular (PLAC) score

09 Jul 20264 min read0 viewsJournal Feed

GIST (Key Takeaways)

by Julian A. Cortes, Shaliz Aflatooni, Andrea Ure, Gabriela Palma, Nicole Johnsen, Kimberly Smart, Yvonne Nong, April W. Armstrong Background Psoriasis is an inflammatory disease associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).
Although blood-cell markers predict ASCVD in the general population, the utility of these markers in cardiovascular risk stratification in psoriasis remains unclear given heightened inflammatory burdens among these patients. Objectives We aimed to develop a composite ASCVD risk score for psoriasis and evaluate its performance by integrating a novel inflammatory blood-cell marker with traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using All of Us (enrollment:May 2018-October 2023).
ASCVD included acute coronary syndrome, cerebrovascular accident, or coronary artery disease. Independent predictors of ASCVD in Cox regression informed the Platelet-Leukocyte Adjusted Cardiovascular (PLAC) score, incorporating the Neutrophil-to-Platelet-to-Monocyte Ratio (NuPMoR=neutrophils/[platelets x monocytes]), age ≥ 65, male sex, hypertension, and diabetes. Results Among 1,572 psoriasis patients (median follow-up 7.2 years), the PLAC score (AUC 0.69, 95% CI 0.65–0.74), which incorporates NuPMoR, stratified patients into low-, medium-, and high-risk groups with corresponding 10-year ASCVD incidences of 4.9%, 11.8%, and 39.9%.

Clinical Editorial

PLOS ONE (Medicine) published a clinical update in Research Highlights on 09 Jul 2026.

The item focuses on A practical inflammatory blood-cell marker for cardiovascular risk stratification in psoriasis: Development of the Platelet-Leukocyte Adjusted Cardiovascular (PLAC) score.

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