Clinical Edge

Summaries of Must-Read Clinical Literature, Guidelines, and FDA Actions

Comorbidities in Spondyloarthritis

Assessing their incidence worldwide

There is a high prevalence of comorbidities associated with spondyloarthritis (SpA), according to a large international study of 3,984 patients with SpA. Researchers found:

• Most frequent comorbidities were osteoporosis (13%), and gastroduodenal ulcer (11%).

• Most frequent risk factors were: hypertension (34%), smoking (29%), hypercholesterolaemia (27%).

• Substantial intercountry variability was seen for screening of comorbidities.

• Systematic evaluation during this study revealed previously unknown risk factors, emphasizing the suboptimal monitoring of comorbidities.

Citation: Molto A, Etcheto A, van der Heijde D, et al. Prevalence of comorbidities and evaluation of their screening in spondyloarthritis: results of the international cross-sectional ASAS-COMOSPA study. [Published online ahead of print October 21, 2015]. Ann Rheum Dis. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2015-208174.