Comorbidities (excluding lymphoma) in Sjögren's syndrome.

The information about comorbidities (excluding lymphoma) in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is relatively scarce. Cardiovascular disease, infections, musculoskeletal conditions or malignancy are likely the most relevant comorbid conditions in pSS. Different infections (particularly oral candidal infections) and fibromyalgia are extremely frequent in the daily clinical practice. On the other hand, the incidence of cardiovascular events and cancer in pSS is low, so information about them comes from large epidemiological studies or meta-analysis. For this reason, preclinical vascular disease is investigated by different techniques, demonstrating the presence of early atherosclerosis in pSS patients. Coronary events could be slightly more frequent in pSS than in the general population. The overall risk of malignancy in pSS patients seems to be slightly increased, likely due to excess occurrence of lymphoma. An association between pSS and thyroid cancer might exist, although it should be confirmed by further investigations.

High prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis in psoriatic arthritis patients: a study based on carotid ultrasound.

Analyse the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis in psoriatic arthritis patients (PsA). A cross-sectional study of 53 patients with PsA and 53 controls matched for age and sex was designed. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and the presence of carotid plaques (CP) were assessed with carotid ultrasound. Data on cardiovascular (CV) risk factors were collected. Patients with PsA had a higher prevalence rate of obesity and tobacco smoking. CP were detected more frequently in patients with PsA than in controls with an OR of 4.15, 95% CI 1.4-12.1, which adjusted for smoking and those with history of CV disease gave an OR of 3.9, 95% CI 1.2-12.7, p = 0.026. Carotid IMT was significantly higher in patients with PsA adjusted for age and tobacco smoking. According to ultrasound data, 30.2% of patients with PsA had carotid atherosclerosis (presence of CP and/or carotid IMT > 0.90 mm) compared with 9.4% of controls. The SCORE index (Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation) underestimated the CV risk in these patients: most patients with CP had an intermediate CV risk. According to carotid ultrasound data, PsA patients have a high prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis. These results support the importance of screening for CV risk and to include carotid ultrasound in CV prevention strategies in these patients.