Prevalence of comorbidities and cardiovascular risk factor management in hand osteoarthritis: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of comorbidities and management of cardiovascular risk factors according to established guidelines for patients with hand osteoarthritis.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted that included 110 hand osteoarthritis patients. The clinical parameters (pain, function, grip strength, quality of life, sarcopenia, and comorbidities) were assessed along with cardiovascular (CV) risk factors (blood pressure, body mass index, and dyslipidaemia). CV risk was assessed using SCORE2 or SCORE2-OP algorithms. Comparisons of patient characteristics were performed using Student's or chi-squared tests.

Results: Twenty-eight patients were identified with comorbidities, and they tended to be older, male, and with a lower quality of life. The median SCORE2 was 5.1%. SCORE2 was negatively associated with grip strength (r=-0.27, p = 0.02). There was no difference in SCORE2 between hand osteoarthritis patients with (n = 60) and without (n = 50) neuropathic-like pain (5.6 ± 3.7 versus 6.2 ± 3.3%; p = 0.38). Among the 40 patients with an intermediate or high CV risk, 33 (82.5%) were off target for low-density lipoproteins (LDL) level with no lipid-lowering treatment (n = 29) or an insufficient statin treatment (n = 4). Obesity was observed in 24 patients (21.8%) and 30 (27.3%) were overweight. Forty-two patients (41.2%) had blood hypertension (41 systolic and one diastolic patient) despite treatment for 9 patients.

Conclusions: We found an increased CV risk in hand osteoarthritis patients who had an insufficient LDL cholesterol target achievement. Hand osteoarthritis patients appear to have a pro-atherogenic profile. These results suggest that CV risk factors should be assessed in patients with hand osteoarthritis and managed according to recommended guidelines.