Anyone can develop psoriasis. However, lifetime risk of developing psoriasis is strongly associated with family history.

• If no parent has psoriasis, the lifetime risk of developing the disease is 4%.
• If one parent has the disease, the lifetime risk of developing psoriasis is 14 - 28%. The risk of developing psoriasis increases dramatically to 40 - 65% if both parents have psoriasis.
• If one child in the family already has psoriasis, these risks increase to 24% if no parents have psoriasis, 51% if one parent has the disease, and 83% if both parents have psoriasis.

References for all data on this page are available in the Psoriasis Health Indicator Report.

This program is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $351,404, with 2 percentage funded by CDC/HHS and $14.3 million amount and 98 percentage funded by non-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.