High inflammatory burden predicts cardiovascular events in patients with axial spondyloarthritis: a long-term follow-up study

Long-term safety and sustained efficacy of bimekizumab in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (radiographic axial spondyloarthritis): 5-year results from BE AGILE (phase 2b) and its open-label extension

OBJECTIVE

Assess long-term safety, tolerability and efficacy of bimekizumab in ankylosing spondylitis (radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA)).

METHODS

Patients with active r-axSpA completing the dose-ranging 48-week randomised controlled trial could enrol in the open-label extension, where patients received bimekizumab 160 mg every 4 weeks. Safety (exposure-adjusted incidence rates/100 patient-years (EAIRs)) and efficacy outcomes (binary: non-responder imputation (NRI) and observed case (OC); continuous: multiple imputation (MI)) are presented through 256 weeks.

RESULTS

From Weeks 0-256, 289/303 (95.4%) patients had ≥1 treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE); most frequent were nasopharyngitis (21.8%) and upper respiratory tract infection (14.5%). The EAIR of fungal infections was 7.4 (Candida infections: 2.6; oral candidiasis: 2.2); none systemic. EAIR of serious infections was 1.4; no active tuberculosis was reported. Active inflammatory bowel disease and anterior uveitis EAIRs were 0.8 and 0.7, respectively. 202/303 (66.7%) patients completed Week 256. 42 (13.9%) patients discontinued treatment due to TEAEs.Efficacy at Week 48 was maintained for 5 years. At Week 256, NRI analysis showed 49.7% (OC: 73.1%) and 41.6% (OC: 71.1%) of patients achieved Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society 40% (ASAS40) response and Axial Spondyloarthritis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) low disease activity, respectively. Mean (SE; MI) ASDAS improved from 3.9 (0.1) at baseline to 2.1 (0.1) at Week 48, which was maintained to Week 256. Improvements in pain, fatigue, physical function and health-related quality of life were sustained.

CONCLUSIONS

The safety profile of bimekizumab after 5 years of treatment remained consistent with previous reports, with no new safety signals identified. 5-year efficacy was sustained in this r-axSpA population following robust disease control achieved at Week 48.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS

NCT02963506; NCT03355573.

Risk of cardiovascular disease associated with long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in ankylosing spondylitis

OBJECTIVE

To examine the risk of cardiovascular disease associated with long-term use of NSAIDs in a large real-world AS cohort.

METHODS

This nationwide population-based cohort study used data from the Korean National Health Insurance Database. Patients aged ≥18 years old who were newly diagnosed with AS without prior cardiovascular disease between January 2010 and December 2018 were included in this study. Controls without AS were randomly selected by age, sex and index year. The primary outcome was cardiovascular disease, a composite outcome of ischaemic heart disease, stroke or congestive heart failure. Long-term use of NSAIDs was defined as use of NSAIDs for >365 cumulative defined daily doses. The association between long-term use of NSAIDs and incident cardiovascular disease was examined in both AS and non-AS populations.

RESULTS

Among 19 775 patients with AS and 59 325 matched controls without AS, there were 1663 and 4308 incident cases of cardiovascular disease, showing an incidence of 16.9 and 13.8 per 1000 person-years, respectively. Long-term use of NSAIDs was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease in non-AS controls [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 1.64; 95% CI 1.48-1.82]. In contrast, long-term use of NSAIDs did not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in AS patients (aHR 1.06; 95% CI 0.94-1.20; adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, BMI, smoking status, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and TNF inhibitor use).

CONCLUSION

Prolonged NSAID treatment in AS patients may not be as harmful as in the general population regarding cardiovascular risk.

Impact of inflammation and anti-inflammatory therapies on the incidence of major cardiovascular events in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: A population-based study

OBJECTIVE

To examine the independent effect of inflammatory burden and various treatments on the risk of incident major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients.

METHODS

AS patients were retrospectively selected from a territory-wide database between 2006 and 2015, and were followed until the end of 2018. The primary outcome was the first occurrence of MACE. Multivariate time-varying Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine the associations between inflammatory burden (measured by c-reactive protein [CRP] and erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR]) and different therapies with incident MACE, after adjusting for traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors.

RESULTS

A total of 3827 patients with AS (mean age: 45.2 ± 15.0 years, male: 2911 [76.1 %]) were recruited. After a follow-up of 23,275 person-years, 135 patients (3.5 %) developed a first MACE. Univariate analyses showed that elevated ESR and CRP levels, and the use of glucocorticoids were associated with a significantly higher risk of MACE, while the use of sulfasalazine (SLZ), biologic DMARDs and non-cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors (non-COX-IIi) were associated with reduced risk of MACE. After adjusting for CV risk factors in the multivariable models, only ESR (HR: 1.02; ESR ≥30 mm/h, HR:1.94) and CRP level (HR: 1.14; CRP >3 mg/dl HR:5.43) remained significantly associated with increased risk of MACE, while SLZ use (HR: 0.41-0.52) was protective against MACE.

CONCLUSION

High inflammatory burden was an independent predictor associated with an increased risk of MACE, while the use of SLZ might reduce risk of incident MACE in patients with AS.

Cross-sectional analysis of cardiovascular disease and risk factors in patients with spondyloarthritis: a real-life evidence from biostar nationwide registry

The association between spondyloarthritis and cardiovascular (CV) diseases is complex with variable outcomes. This study aimed to assess the prevalence rates of CV diseases and to analyze the impact of CV risk factors on CV disease in patients with spondyloarthritis. A multi-center cross-sectional study using the BioSTAR (Biological and Targeted Synthetic Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs Registry) database was performed on patients with spondyloarthritis. Socio-demographic, laboratory, and clinical data were collected. Patients with and without major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were grouped as Group 1 and Group 2. The primary outcome was the overall group's prevalence rates of CV disease and CV risk factors. The secondary outcome was the difference in socio-demographic and clinical characteristics between the groups and predictive risk factors for CV disease. There were 1457 patients with a mean age of 45.7 ± 10.9 years. The prevalence rate for CV disease was 3% (n = 44). The distribution of these diseases was coronary artery disease (n = 42), congestive heart failure (n = 4), peripheral vascular disorders (n = 6), and cerebrovascular events (n = 4). Patients in Group 1 were significantly male (p = 0.014) and older than those in Group 2 (p < 0.001). There were significantly more patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, dyslipidemia, and malignancy in Group 1 than in Group 2 (p < 0.05). Smoking (36.7%), obesity (24.4%), and hypertension (13.8%) were the most prevalent traditional CV risk factors. Hypertension (HR = 3.147, 95% CI 1.461-6.778, p = 0.003), dyslipidemia (HR = 3.476, 95% CI 1.631-7.406, p = 0.001), and cancer history (HR = 5.852, 95% CI 1.189-28.810, p = 0.030) were the independent predictors for CV disease. A multi-center cross-sectional study using the BioSTAR (Biological and Targeted Synthetic Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs Registry) database was performed on patients with spondyloarthritis. Socio-demographic, laboratory, and clinical data were collected. Patients with and without major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were grouped as Group 1 and Group 2. The primary outcome was the overall group's prevalence rates of CV disease and CV risk factors. The secondary outcome was the difference in socio-demographic and clinical characteristics between the groups and predictive risk factors for CV disease. There were 1457 patients with a mean age of 45.7 ± 10.9 years. The prevalence rate for CV disease was 3% (n = 44). The distribution of these diseases was coronary artery disease (n = 42), congestive heart failure (n = 4), peripheral vascular disorders (n = 6), and cerebrovascular events (n = 4). Patients in Group 1 were significantly male (p = 0.014) and older than those in Group 2 (p < 0.001). There were significantly more patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, dyslipidemia, and malignancy in Group 1 than in Group 2 (p < 0.05). Smoking (36.7%), obesity (24.4%), and hypertension (13.8%) were the most prevalent traditional CV risk factors. Hypertension (HR = 3.147, 95% CI 1.461-6.778, p = 0.003), dyslipidemia (HR = 3.476, 95% CI 1.631-7.406, p = 0.001), and cancer history (HR = 5.852, 95% CI 1.189-28.810, p = 0.030) were the independent predictors for CV disease. The prevalence rate of CV disease was 3.0% in patients with spondyloarthritis. Hypertension, dyslipidemia, and cancer history were the independent CV risk factors for CV disease in patients with spondyloarthritis.

Inflammation is associated with incident hypertension in patients with axial spondyloarthritis: A longitudinal cohort study

OBJECTIVES

To elucidate the risk factors for the development of incident hypertension (IHT) in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study in axSpA patients who were recruited from 2001 to 2019 from a university clinic in Hong Kong. Patients with HT and/or anti-hypertensive drug use at baseline were excluded. They were followed until the end of 2020. The outcome was IHT, defined by a diagnosis and a prescription for an antihypertensive drug. Baseline and time-varying Cox regression analyses adjusting for age, sex, and body mass index (BMI), were used to assess the relationship between drug use, inflammatory burden, and IHT.

RESULTS

Four hundred and thirteen patients [age: 34(25-43) years, male: 319 (77.2%)] were recruited. After a median follow-up of 12 (6-17) years, 58 patients (14%) developed IHT (IHT+group). Among all the baseline variables, disease duration and delay in diagnosis were the independent predictors for IHT based on the Cox regression model. In the multivariate Cox regression analysis, baseline disease duration, delay in diagnosis and time-varying ESR levels were independent predictors associated with an increased risk of IHT. IHT risk was significantly increased in patients with disease duration >5 years. The use of anti-inflammatory drugs was not associated with the development of IHT.

CONCLUSION

Higher inflammatory burden as reflected by a longer disease duration, delay diagnosis and higher ESR levels, were predictors associated with IHT after adjusting for traditional CV risk factors. These data support routine screening for hypertension in axSpA patients, especially those with longer disease duration.