Comorbidities in Spondyloarthritis: A Review

May 17, 2018

Osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, infection . . . which of these comorbidities are of greatest concern in patients with SpA?

Reference1. MoltÃ³ A, Nikiphorou E. Comorbidities in spondyloarthritis. Front Med. 2018;5:62. doi:10.3389/fmed.2018.00062.

MoltÃ³ and Nikiphorou have reviewed the various comorbidities associated with spondyloarthritis (SpA) in an effort to improve outcomes through education and understanding.¹

Scroll through the slides for an overview of the current knowledge base and for take-home points for clinicians.

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The authors note that little has been done to describe the comorbidities in SpA.

CRP, C-reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

Inflammation has been linked to increased bone resorption and impaired bone formation, by the action of inflammatory mediators on osteoclast activity.

Studies are conflicting, and there is some confusion over what constitutes a vertebral fracture.

DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; TNFi, tumor necrosis factor inhibitor.

The authors point out that inflammation itself has become a cardiovascular risk factor attributed to atherosclerosis.

PUVA, psoralen and ultraviolet A.

EULAR, European League Against Rheumatism.