Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease (Jul 2021)

Potential relation of cardiovascular risk factors to disease activity in patients with axial spondyloarthritis

  • Iván Ferraz-Amaro,
  • Javier Rueda-Gotor,
  • Fernanda Genre,
  • Alfonso Corrales,
  • Ricardo Blanco,
  • Virginia Portilla,
  • Iñigo González Mazón,
  • Javier Llorca,
  • Rosa Expósito,
  • Esther F. Vicente,
  • Juan Carlos Quevedo-Abeledo,
  • Carlos Rodríguez-Lozano,
  • Rafaela Ortega-Castro,
  • María Lourdes Ladehesa-Pineda,
  • Cristina Fernández-Carballido,
  • M Paz Martínez-Vidal,
  • David Castro-Corredor,
  • Joaquín Anino-Fernández,
  • María Luz García Vivar,
  • Eva Galíndez-Agirregoikoa,
  • Diana Peiteado,
  • Chamaida Plasencia-Rodríguez,
  • Esther Montes Perez,
  • Carlos Fernández Díaz,
  • Santos Castañeda,
  • Miguel Ángel González-Gay

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/1759720X211033755
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

Read online

Background: Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) patients are known to have a higher prevalence of several comorbidities, including, among others, an increased risk of atherosclerosis, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the sum of traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors is related to disease characteristics, such as disease activity, in patients with axSpA. Methods: A cross-sectional study that encompassed 804 patients with axSpA was conducted. Patients were assessed for the presence of five traditional CV risk factors (diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension, obesity, and smoking status), and disease activity measurements. A multivariable regression analysis was performed to evaluate whether the number of classic CV risk factors was independently associated with specific features of the disease, to include disease activity. Results: A multivariable analysis showed that Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score–C reactive protein (ASDAS-CRP) activity score was significantly higher in patients with 1 [beta coefficient 0.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.1–0.5), p = 0.001] and ⩾2 [beta coefficient 0.5 (95% CI 0.3–0.7), p = 0.000] CV risk factors compared with those without CV risk factors. Similarly, patients with 1 [OR 2.00 (95%CI 0.99–4.02), p = 0.053] and ⩾2 [OR 3.39 (95%CI 1.82–6.31), p = 0.000] CV risk factors had a higher odds ratio for the presence of high disease activity compared with the zero CV category. The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) activity score was significantly associated with the number of CV risk factors, being higher in patients with more CV risk factors. These relationships showed a CV risk factor-dependent effect being beta coefficients and ORs higher for the effect of ⩾2 over 1 CV risk factor. Conclusion: Among patients with axSpA, as the number of traditional CV risk factors increased, disease activity similarly increases in an independent manner.