E-Mail karger@karger.com Original Paper Dermatology 2015;231:134–144 DOI: 10.1159/000382123 EPIMAG: International Cross-Sectional Epidemiological Psoriasis Study in the Maghreb Aomar Ammar-Khodja   a Ismail Benkaidali   a Bakar Bouadjar   b Amina Serradj   c Abdelhamid Titi   d Hakima Benchikhi   e Said Amal   f Badreddine Hassam   g Abdelhak Sekkat   h Fatima Zahra Mernissi   i Inçaf Mokhtar   j Raouf Dahoui   k Mohamed Denguezli   l Nejib Doss   k Hamida Turki   m   a  Department of Dermatology, CHU Mustapha, and b  Department of Dermatology, CHU Bab El Oued, University of Algiers, Algiers, c  Department of Dermatology, EHS Oran, University of Oran, Oran, and d  Department of Dermatology, CHU Annaba, University of Annaba, Annaba, Algeria; e  Department of Dermatology, CHU Ibn Rochd, Casablanca, f  Department of Dermatology, CHU Mohammed V., Marrakesh, g  Department of Dermatology, CHU Ibn Sina, and h  Department of Dermatology, Cheikh Zaid Hospital, Rabat, and i  Department of Dermatology, CHU Hassan II, Fes, Morocco; j  Department of Dermatology, Habib Thameur Hospital, and k  Department of Dermatology, Military Hospital of Instruction of Tunis, Tunis, l  Department of Dermatology, CHU Farhat Hached, Sousse, and m  Department of Dermatology, CHU Hedi Chaker, Sfax, Tunisia in Morocco and 13.26/1,000 in Tunisia, and thus 12.08/1,000 in the Maghreb. In all 699 psoriasis subjects, the mean age was 46 years, the mean BMI was 26.6, and 55.7% of subjects were men. Two thirds of the subjects had never smoked, and 85.0% had never consumed alcohol. Half had brown skin, and 28.6% had a family history of psoriasis. Three quarters had localized psoriasis, 85.8% had plaque psoriasis, coupled with pruritus in over 70.0% of cases. Flares or outbreaks were most often triggered by stress (79.4%) and change of season (43.1%). The majority of subjects used topical therapy, and the investigators considered overall treatment efficacy to be partial in over half of the cases. Among patients with pre- existing psoriasis, secondary analyses showed that 73.2% had severe psoriasis, and that quality of life was severely af- fected in 40.1% of cases. The mean number of missing school or work days over 6 months was 3.2 (±12.1) days. Conclu- sions: Our study provides novel information relative to pso- riasis epidemiology and characterization in the Maghreb and highlights the need to improve psoriasis screening and management in the region. The data will help optimize pso- riasis management, to ensure appropriate national health care policies. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel Key Words Psoriasis · Epidemiology · Characterization · Screening · Prevalence · Frequency Abstract Background: Psoriasis is a common skin disorder that is characterized by red plaques covered with silvery scales and is associated with considerable psychosocial impact. It has been described in several studies worldwide, but specific data from the Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) are unavailable. Objectives: To characterize the frequency of new psoriasis cases and to describe the epidemiological and clinical profile of psoriasis in the Maghreb. Methods: A pso- riasis working group for the Maghreb initiated the EPIMAG international multicentre cross-sectional observational epi- demiological study coupled with a 2-week psoriasis screen- ing study via medical consultation. Data were collected via questionnaires. Results: The total analysis population in- cluded 373 pre-existing and 326 new psoriasis cases, de- scribed by 261 participating investigators. The frequency of new psoriasis cases was 10.26/1,000 in Algeria, 15.04/1,000 Received: November 12, 2014 Accepted after revision: April 5, 2015 Published online: June 19, 2015 Aomar Ammar-Khodja Department of Dermatology CHU Mustapha Algiers (Algeria) E-Mail ako-om  @  hotmail.com © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel 1018–8665/15/2312–0134$39.50/0 www.karger.com/drm Downloaded by: 52.86.176.3 - 1/19/2017 8:59:24 PM