Venous thromboembolism (VTE) has a known association with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, little is known about the risk of VTE in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) compared to the general population.
Alexis Ogdie-Beatty (abstract #3119) and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania aimed to study the risk of VTE among patients with PsA, psoriasis or RA compared to the general population. They undertook a longitudinal cohort study utilizing a national UK database and examined records for patients enrolled from 1994-2014. They identified patients age 18-89 with RA, PsA, or psoriasis, who also had a diagnosis of VTE. They accounted for other confounding factors and risks for VTE, for example hospitalizations, cancer, and hypertension.
They found that patients with RA, regardless of DMARD therapy, had an increased risk of VTE compared to the general population. Patients with psoriasis who were not on DMARD therapy also had an increased risk of VTE. In patients with PsA, however, a trend towards elevated risk of VTE was seen in patients with severe psoriasis who were receiving DMARD therapy, but was not seen in similar patients who were not on a DMARD.
More data are therefore needed to confirm the trend towards increased risk of VTE in PsA patients receiving DMARD therapy.