Project Overview

Building on its 2004 study of the Burden of Skin Disease, the Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID) has launched a new initiative to determine the Burden of Skin Disease Co-Morbidities. In recent years, there has been increasing evidence linking various skin diseases with a number of co-morbid conditions¹, some of which occur as a consequence of treatment for severe skin disease.

Overall Co-Morbidities Project Purpose

The multi-year, multi component project is designed to facilitate interaction and collaboration across multiple medical disciplines and fields, in order to

• identify the depth and state of knowledge on connections between dermatologic and non-dermatologic diseases, including their existence, scientific basis and prevalence;
• make recommendations pertaining to support of basic and clinical research in the area; and
• enhance public (including media and policy) awareness and public and policy support for basic and clinical research in the area.

SID has begun to collect data on the incidence, prevalence, and health and economic burden of the most common skin disease co-morbidities. The analyzed data will serve as a foundation for project components including the project launch conference (see below) scientific meetings (including sessions at SID’s annual meeting), scientific publications (including a supplement to the Journal of Investigative Dermatology), and a research agenda with recommendations for public and private sector disease research.

The first meeting of the project steering committee was held during the AAD meeting in San Antonio, Texas in February 2008. During that meeting the parameters of the overall project were discussed and planning began for the project launch conference.

2008 Project Activities

October 2008 Launch Conference – Expanding Dermatology’s Boundaries

The Burden of Skin Disease Co-Morbidities project will be launched by a one and one half day conference in Washington DC on October 14th and 15 th, 2008. The conference will explore connections between:

• Dermatologic effects of treating extracutaneous disease, with a focus on oncology;
• Dermatologic disease and psychiatric disease, with a focus on acne; and
• Dermatologic disease and cardiovascular disease, with a focus on psoriasis.

The conference will be held at the Marriot Bethesda North Hotel & Conference Center.

Launch Conference Goals

The goals of the conference are to:

1. explore the existence, scientific knowledge about, and prevalence of, associations between 1) the occurrence of cutaneous and clinically significant extracutaneous disease (with or without common pathophysiology); and 2) dermatologic effects of treating extracutaneous diseases;
2. develop hypotheses regarding same;
3. explore opportunities for inter-disciplinary collaboration; and
4. develop preliminary recommendations regarding subsequent project components

The anticipated longer term outcomes of the conference are to:

1. provide the foundation for the sustained integration of basic and clinical medical knowledge on co-morbidities;
2. increase scientific awareness of the above; and
3. increase public awareness of the above.

Launch Conference Program and Participants

The program will consist of three sections, each covering the subject matter areas. Each section will consist of presentations by leading researchers and clinicians in the areas of dermatology, oncology, cardiology and psychiatry outlining the state of scientific knowledge, followed by break-out sessions. The first day of the program is being organized to emphasize discussion among the participants, which will be recorded and synthesized by medical writers for further consideration on the second day of the conference.

Attendance will be limited to 75 individuals. Representatives from medicine, government (NIH, VA, HCFA, FDA, CDC) and industry will be invited to participate.

The conference will be videotaped for subsequent webcasting and DVD production (see www.sidnet.org for current meeting postings).

Publication of Conference Proceedings

The conference proceedings will be published as a supplement to the Journal of Investigative Dermatology and disseminated according to recommendations of the project steering committee.

Online database  

As of April 2008 SID has begun to establish an online database of accumulated scientific information on skin disease co-morbidities. Among other things, the data base will include: scientific information pertaining to previous or ongoing research; information on institutions and individuals engaged in such research; and activities (such as scientific publishing) that have disseminated this information. The information will be accessible online and will be designed in such a way that it can be revised, updated and annotated by individuals approved by SID (wiki model).

In addition to the benefit of sharing information among researchers, accumulation of this data could, among other things: 1) highlight evidence-based treatments; 2) lead to the development of “best practices;” and 3) enhance possibilities for a clinical trials network.

Outreach  

2008 outreach activities will include 1) informing the larger healthcare community, the media and policymakers by disseminating information on the project and the 2008 conference; 2) engaging that audience in specific project activities; and 3) creating a community (online and otherwise) of individuals and organizations that have an ongoing interest in the goals of the project.

2009 Project Activities (preliminary)

• Sponsor educational initiatives on Skin Disease Co-Morbidities for researchers and clinicians
• Sponsor enduring materials initiatives to disseminate conference proceedings
• Using the model of SID’s annual Basics of Skin Disease conference, sponsor conference on Skin Disease Co-Morbidities for industry personnel
• Sponsor 2009 state of the science conference
• Based on the report and working in conjunction with the broader research community, develop A Research Agenda for Skin Disease Co-Morbidities. Among other things, this report will be useful in making recommendations regarding federal funding for skin disease research and will be a focus of the public policy conference described below.
• Issue and publish the research agenda
• Prepare and publish web-based interactive components to 1) publicize the co-morbiditiesreport; and 2) create on line communities and other vehicles to explore the ramifications of the report for skin disease research and drug development. (2009)
• Initiate media, public and government relations efforts to highlight and disseminate the reports.

To raise awareness of the issue, to sponsor Washington, DC public policy conference to assemble Congressional members, staff, government officials, media, industry, academe, researchers and patients to discuss the two reports and obtain participants’ reactions.

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1. Gelfand JM, et al. Risk of Myocardial Infarction in Patients with Psoriasis. JAMA. 2006:296:1735-1741.