Does Treatment Lower CV Event Risk in Patients with Inflammatory Arthritides?
Biologic use lowers the risk for cardiovascular events (CVE) in patients with inflammatory arthritides, according to the findings of a recent study.
Several studies have shown the risk for cardiovascular diseases is elevated in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and ankylosing spondylitis (AS). To determine whether biologic use affected this risk, researchers analyzed the data of 4140 patients with RA, PsA, and AS who were enrolled in the Australian Rheumatology Association Database from September 2001 to January 2015.
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The researchers defined CVEs as angina, myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass graft, percutaneous coronary intervention, other heart disease, stroke/transient ischemic attack, or death from cardiovascular causes. They calculated hazard ratios (HR) and adjusted for age, sex, diagnosis, methotrexate use, prednisone use, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory use, smoking, alcohol consumption, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and functional status.
Their analyses showed anti-TNF inhibitor use reduced CVE risk (HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.76-0.95), as did the use of other biologics (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.70-0.95). However, CVE risk was not lower among those who ceased treatment with biologics (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.83-1.11).
In addition, the researchers found no significant difference in CVE risk among those with RA and PsA (HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.77-1.10), or AS (HR 1.14, 95% CI 0.96-1.36) after adjustments.
Reference
Lee JL, Sinnathurai P, Buchbinder R, Hill C, Lassere M, March L. Biologics and cardiovascular events in inflammatory arthritis: a prospective national cohort study [published online August 7, 2018]. Arthritis Res Ther. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13075-018-1669-x