Family history can predispose a person to developing psoriasis. Having a parent or another family member with psoriasis increases your risk of developing it yourself. More than 20 percent of psoriasis patients report having a family history.
“Genetics seems to play a large role — people with psoriasis often have a family history of psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis,” says Shilpi Khetarpal, MD, a dermatologist at Cleveland Clinic Main Campus in Ohio.
But the role of genes isn’t clear-cut. Some people who develop psoriasis don’t have genes that increase their risk, and some people with genes that are known to increase the risk of developing psoriasis never do.
The best explanation: Psoriasis is due to a certain “mix” of genes in combination with environmental triggers, some of which are still unknown.
Psoriasis is not contagious; it doesn’t spread through physical contact or exchange of bodily fluids.
In other words, a person can’t spread the disease through touch or saliva or during any kind of sexual contact.
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