Here's an article from Healio that links psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis with tuberculosis.
Our take? be extra careful!
I love how Healio.com use terms like "appear to have and increased risk" and "might be linked"...
NSAIDS and corticosteriods are the only correct and often affordable treatment for many people who live w/P and PsA.
There's just not enough firm data to make a solid connection between increased risk of TB and dx of P, PsA and the relationships to meds. as noted in the part that was left out of the article but included in the actual study results.
Limitation
The National Health Insurance Research Database did not contain information regarding severity of psoriasis, smoking status, alcohol use, diet, laboratory parameters, chest radiograph, or history of recent contact with an individual with TB. Misclassification of disease cannot be ruled out in a registry-based database. The accessibility of health care may be associated with the level of urbanization, which could confound the effect of drugs in multivariate analyses. (source: http://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(12)02376-6/abstract )
A treating MD worth his or her salt will take the most conservative approach to treat P and/or PsA, often with NSAIDS and corticoseroids first, before moving forward into the realm of biological injectables. That said, patients should know all of the risks involved w/any medications. Most patients I know (including myself) believe the benefits of medication therapies out-weigh the risks.
IMO, Healio's article on the study is unduly alarmist.
TB is caused by a bacteria. You must be exposed to it. Where I live TB is rampant. My only precaution that my MD( who treats alot of TB) and Rheumy was: if working with a patient with TB always double glove and make sure to be in the room no longer than 15 mins with my N95 mask. That’s it. Having a depleted immune system can decrease your body’s defences against any virus or bacteria, but that does not link TB with Psoriasis.