Cardiovascular disease-related hospital admissions of patients with inflammatory arthritis.

Objective: Patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) have an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), suggesting a high rate of CVD-related hospitalizations, but data on this topic are limited. Our study addressed hospital admissions for CVD in a primary care-based population of patients with IA and controls.

Methods: All newly diagnosed patients with IA between 2001 and 2010 were selected from electronic medical records of the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research Primary Care database, representing a national network of general practices. Two control patients matched for age, sex, and practice were selected for each patient with IA. Hospital admission data for all patients was retrieved from the Dutch Hospital Data.

Results: There were 2615 patients with IA and 5555 controls included in our study. CVD-related hospital admissions were observed more frequently among patients with IA as compared with control patients: 48% versus 36% (p < 0.001) in a followup period of 4 years. Patients with IA were more often hospitalized because of ischemic heart disease (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2-2.2) and for day-care admission because of cerebrovascular disease (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.0-4.9).

Conclusion: Increased hospital admission rates confirm the higher CVD burden among patients with IA compared with controls, and underscore the need for proper CVD risk management in patients with IA.