title: Risk of peripheral arterial occlusive disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. A nationwide population-based cohort study.
abstract: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with atherosclerosis. However, the relationship between RA and peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) remains unclear. We used a national health insurance database to identify a cohort of 30,812 patients diagnosed with RA between 2000 and 2011. Each RA patient was frequency-matched according to age and sex with a patient without RA from a control cohort. A multivariate Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyse the adjusted risk of PAOD. The incidence of PAOD was 1.73-fold higher (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.57-1.91) in the RA cohort than in the non-RA cohort. The adjusted risk of PAOD was the highest in the patients with RA aged ≤ 49 years (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.39, 95% CI = 2.66-4.32). Patients with RA and various comorbidities showed a significantly higher risk of PAOD (HR = 9.62, 95% CI = 4.86-19.1) compared with control patients without comorbidity. The risk of PAOD increased during the first year of follow-up. In conclusion, patients with RA have an independently higher risk of PAOD compared with the general population. Patients with RA and various comorbidities and those at a young age and early stage of the disease have an increased risk of PAOD.
authors.forename: Ya-Wen
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.forename: Mei-Ching
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Cheng-Li
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Tung-Min
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Kuo-Hsiung
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.forename: Shih-Ting
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Chia-Hung Kao, MD, Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Science, College of Medicine, China Medical University, No. 2, Yuh-Der Road, Taichung 40447, Taiwan, Tel.: +886 4 22052121 ext.7412, Fax: +886 4 22336174, E-mail: d10040@mail.cmuh.org.tw.
authors.forename: Chia-Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D058729:Peripheral Arterial Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013624:Taiwan; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Rheumatoid arthritis; incidence; peripheral arterial occlusive disease; risk factors