Ankylosing Spondylitis Is Associated with Excess Vascular Mortality

Many studies have shown excess risk for vascular disease among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and other chronic inflammatory diseases (NEJM JW Gen Med Mar 15 2015 and Ann Rheum Dis 2015; 74:326). The reasons are unknown, but preclinical studies suggest that inflammatory processes are involved. In this retrospective study, researchers used administrative health databases in Ontario to assess vascular mortality in >21,000 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS; mean age, 46) and nearly 87,000 age-, sex-, and location-matched controls without AS.

After adjustment for baseline comorbidities (i.e., hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, and demen…