Beyond pharmacology: The mediating role of expectations in the experience of side effects in anxious patients treated with secukinumab

Introduction

Biologics such as the interleukin-17A inhibitor secukinumab have significantly advanced the treatment of psoriasis. However, when discussing treatments, the role of expectations in the perception of side effects is not yet entirely clear. It is known, however, that negative expectations can cause nocebo effects. We investigated whether side-effect expectations mediate the relationship between trait anxiety and the reporting of side effects during secukinumab therapy.