Incidence of cardiovascular damage in ankylosing spondylitis patients and the related risk factors / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To survey the incidence of cardiovascular damage in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients and explore the related risk factors.And to establish the risk prediction models for the future.Methods The electrocardiogram (ECG) and cardiac ultrasonography (UCG) of 122 AS patients (group A)in the department of rheumatology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2001 to 2011 were analyzed.Fifty-nine AS patients with abnormal ECG and/or UCG findings consisted of the study group (group A1),the other 63 AS patients without cardiovascular damage were the control group (group A2).We selected 100healthy controls (group B).All healthy controls had ECG and UCG tests.The ECG and UCG findings of the group A1 were analyzed,the clinical manifestations and laboratory results were compared between group A1and A2.A univariate analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were carried out to determine the risk factors related to cardiovascular damage in AS.Results The prevalence rate of cardiovascular damage in AS patients was 48.4％ (59/122).While the prevalence of ECG and or UCG abnormality in healthy controls was 12.0％ (12/100),the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P＜0.05).In group A1,the main findings in ECG were abnormal sinus node function,high voltage in left ventricle and ST-T changes,other findings were atrioventricular block,branch bundle block and premature beats.In group A1,the main findings in UCG were valvular diseases and arterial root widening,other abnormal findings were pericardial effusion,left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and mild pulmonary hypertension.The level of ESR,CRP,RBC,HGB,blood glucose,the number of peripheral joint involvement,the severity of sacroiliac arthritis and the age were significantly different between group A1 and A2 (P＜0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age and CRP were risk factors for cardiovascular damage in AS patients.Conclusion The prevalence of cardiovascular damage in ankylosing spondylitis is relatively high.Age and CRP are the risk factors contributing to cardiovascular damage in AS patients.