Autoimmune Diseases Linked to High Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Chronic immune-mediated diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel diseases, are associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, according to the findings of a recent study.

In their study, the researchers analyzed data from 992,546 participants aged 35 to 85 years with no history of cardiovascular disease and followed-up with participants for 6 years. The incidence of cardiovascular disease and hazard ratios (HR) were determined for participants with rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, inflammatory bowel diseases, inflammatory polyarthropathies, systemic connective tissue disorders, and spondylopathies. In addition, population attributable fractions were estimated.
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______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Participants with systemic connective tissue disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel diseases had an increased risk for cardiovascular disease.

Additionally, the population attributable fractions were 13.4% for systemic connective tissue disorders, 15.7% for rheumatoid arthritis, and 10.7% for inflammatory bowel disease.

“Systemic connective tissue disorders and rheumatoid arthritis conferred the highest cardiovascular risk and population impact, followed by inflammatory bowel diseases,” the researchers concluded.

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Baena-Díez JM, Garcia-Gil M, Comas-Cufí M, et al. Association between chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and cardiovascular risk [Published online before print August 28, 2017]. Heart. doi:10.1136/heartjnl-2017-311279.