# Relationship between uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) levels and psoriasis

## TL;DR

This study explores how uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) levels differ in people with psoriasis and suggests UCP1 could help diagnose the disease.

## Contribution

The study identifies UCP1 as a potential biomarker for psoriasis diagnosis based on its predictive accuracy.

## Key findings

- UCP1 levels showed significant diagnostic potential with 66.67% sensitivity and 76.67% specificity for psoriasis.
- Patients with UCP1 levels below 7.561 had a 73% lower probability of developing psoriasis.
- Psoriasis patients had higher inflammation and dyslipidemia markers compared to healthy controls.

## Abstract

Psoriasis is a common chronic autoimmune skin disease. Comorbidities increase the mortality risk of the disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) level in psoriasis patients and evaluate its possible role in the pathogenesis of the disease, focusing on disease severity (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index), dyslipidemia, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk.

This study included 30 psoriasis patients and 30 healthy individuals as a control group. Serum UCP1 was measured using an ELISA test kit. The laboratory results of psoriasis patients and healthy controls were compared.

UCP1 level was a significant candidate marker for the prediction of psoriatic disease (AUC: 0.708, 95% CI: 0.577–0.819, p = 0.002) with sensitivity of 66.67%, specificity of 76.67%, negative predictive value of 69.7%, and positive predictive value of 74.1%. Simple logistic regression analysis showed that an individual with a UCP1 value below 7.561 had a 73% lower probability (OR: 0.27, 95% CI: 0.08–0.94, p = 0.039) of developing psoriasis than an individual with a UCP1 value above 7.561. Among the biochemical parameters, the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and triglyceride levels of the patients were significantly higher compared to those of the healthy controls while their high-density lipoprotein levels were lower.

According to the sensitivity (66.67%) and specificity (76.67%) of UCP1, it may be a valuable candidate marker in the diagnosis of psoriasis patients in symptomatic and asymptomatic phases. Further work is needed to substantiate these findings.