Study Explores Influence of Psoriatic Arthritis on Cardiovascular Health

For psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients, there is a connection between their condition and cardiovascular risk, according to a cross-sectional study published in the 9th volume of Mædica. Researchers noted that age played a factor on overall cardiovascular health for PsA patients.

To understand cardiovascular risk factors specific to PsA patients, researchers conducted surveys for 44 men and 59 women with PsA admitted to hospitalsin2012 and 2013. They assessed cardiovascular risk in patients by recording factors such as subjects’ smoking habits, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use, triglyceride levels, type 2diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and body mass index (BMI). Additionally, researchers recorded similar information for a subgroup of 112 women (50% with PsA).

Researchers discovered a significant association between PsA and cardiovascular risk factors, as well as behavior that increases that risk.

“Overweight, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, inflammatory syndrome, peripheral disease pattern, smoking, and ischemic heart disease (IHD) predominated in [the PsA] group,” the authors wrote. “These cardiovascular risk factors have a strong tendency to aggregate in the same patient.”

The investigators also asserted that since women with PsA had a higher cardiovascular risk scores in comparison to healthy women, PsA is an independent factor for cardiovascular risk. Furthermore, researchers found age increased the likelihood of a patient exhibiting cardiovascular risk factors.

“The cardiovascular 10-year risk(SCORE high risk charts) value correlated significantly with age, age of PsA onset, triglycerides, glucose levels (FPG), and BMI,” the researchers wrote. “On average, the following subgroups had a significantly higher SCORE compared to the respective subgroup: men, smokers, patients with electrocardiographic modifications (IHD) and systolic blood pressure (AHT), patients with axial PsA, and patients who did not receive glucocorticoids.”