What causes psoriatic arthritis?
The exact cause of psoriatic arthritis is unknown, but researchers suspect that the disorder develops because of a combination of genetic (hereditary) and environmental (external) factors. As many as 40 percent of people with psoriatic arthritis have a family history of psoriasis or arthritis, indicating that they are prone to develop arthritis because of their genetic makeup, especially when their immune system is stimulated by an environmental trigger such as an infection.