Increased CV Comorbidity in Dermatomyositis Save

A cohort study suggest that patients with dermatomyositis (DM) are at an increased risk for multiple comorbidities, including chronic kidney and cardiovascular disease,

Data drawn from the NIH sponsored "All of Us" research program where electronic health record (EHR) data and biologic samples are collected on adult volunteers. From 235,161 All of Us participants, they identified 206 DM cases and 824 controls matched for age, smoking status, obesity, and indicators of socioeconomic status., Cohorts were establish using controls with nearest neighbor propensity score matching by age, sex, race/ethnicity, EHR duration, and healthcare visit frequency.

Compared to matched controls, DM patients were more likely to have a history of:

• Atrial fibrillation - 10.1% vs 16.0%, respectively
• Chronic kidney disease - 15.2% vs 29.1%
• Congestive heart failure - 9.6% vs 18%
• Coronary artery disease (CAD) (18.2% vs 34.0%
• Hypertension - 52.5% vs 60.7%
• Myocardial infarction - 7.4% vs 15%
• Type 2 diabetes - 27.3% vs 47.6%
• Valvular heart disease - 8.7% vs 16.5%.

In a multivariable analysis, the three comorbidities associated with DM were CAD (odds ratio [OR], 2.0; P < .001), type 2 diabetes (OR, 2.2; P < .001), and chronic kidney disease (OR, 1.7; P = .015).

As many of these factors significantly contribute to the increased risk for cardiovascular events and CVD-related mortality, clinicians need to be aware of the augmented CV risk and which of the modifiable risk factors and comorbidities they need to better manage.