Psoriasis is a skin disease where the skin cells undergo rapid division. These rapidly dividing skin cells accumulate together on the skin to give rise to scale like areas. As the skin cells shed, these areas are flaked off. Psoriasis is known as autoimmune disease because the body of the person reacts against the organs which include the skin.

Psoriasis can many times give rise to arthritis and this type of arthritis is called psoriatic arthritis. The person affected by psoriatic arthritis suffers from both arthritis as well as psoriasis. Psoriasis develops some years before arthritis and around 15% to 20% of the people suffering from psoriasis can develop arthritis. Arthritis is the disease where the person suffers with pain in joints throughout the body. Neck, hips, knees, back, fingers are the common areas affected by arthritis. Psoriasis arthritis is the result of several factors combined together such as hereditary, environmental and immunological.

If one person in the family is affected by psoriasis arthritis then there are chances for other people in the family to acquire it. Environmental factors such as infection can also result in psoriatic arthritis. Even the immune system of the body can give rise to psoriasis and arthritis.