Increased Prevalence of Bipolar Disorders in Hidradenitis Suppurativa: More Than a Striking Coexistence?

The study investigated the prevalence of bipolar disorder (BD) among patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), a chronic inflammatory skin condition. A retrospective chart review of 247 HS outpatients found that 3.6% (9 patients) also had BD, which was significantly higher compared to the 0.7% prevalence in psoriasis patients and 0.6% in a control group, with statistical significance (P = 0.001). Among the 9 patients with both HS and BD, 66.6% were active smokers, 66.6% were obese, and 44.4% had metabolic syndrome. The study concludes that there is a higher prevalence of BD in HS patients than in those with psoriasis or in the control group, suggesting a need for further research into the pathogenetic mechanisms behind this association.