Introduction: Psoriasis may lead to glomerular inflammatory damage and disruption of the podocyte barrier, allowing podocyte degradation pro
Introduction: Psoriasis may lead to glomerular inflammatory damage and disruption of the podocyte barrier, allowing podocyte degradation products to leak into the urine. Objectives: We aimed to analyze the concentrations of podocyte surface glycoprotein podocalyxin (PDX) and podocyte slit protein nephrin in spot urine samples of patients diagnosed with mild, moderate, or severe psoriasis vulgaris. Methods: A total of 78 participants, including 58 patients diagnosed with mild, moderate, or severe psoriasis vulgaris and 20 controls, were included in the study. The diagnosis of psoriasis was made considering the typical morphological appearance of the lesions. Morning urine samples were used to evaluate urine PDX and nephrin levels. Albuminuria was evaluated by calculating the albumin-creatinine ratio (uACR). Results: Urinary PDX and nephrin levels of psoriasis groups were significantly higher than the control group. Urinary PDX and nephrin levels of mild and moderate psoriasis groups were similar but higher than the control group. Urinary PDX and nephrin levels of the severe psoriasis group were significantly higher than the mild and moderate psoriasis groups. Microalbuminuria rates were similar in the psoriasis and control groups. A positive significant correlation was detected between urine PDX, nephrin, uACR, and SBP. After adjustment for age, BMI and gender, urine PDX and nephrin were found to be independent risk factors for microalbuminuria. Conclusion: This study showed that podocyte damage in psoriasis patients begins in the early stage of the disease and increases significantly in the severe stage of the disease.