Rheumatoid Arthritis Linked to Peripheral Artery Disease

There appears to be an association between RA and peripheral artery disease (PAD), according to a review published in Rheumatology International. Tayser Zoubi, and Hendry Gordon, PhD, conducted a systematic literature review to examine the association between RA and PAD, including the impact of disease concomitance on HRQOL and functional capacity. Based on 11 included studies, the researchers found grade 2 levels of evidence to support the positive association between RA and PAD. The evidence was graded “1” for the association between the ankle-brachial pressure index and RA, suggesting RA may be an independent risk factor for arterial obstruction or incompressibility. There was not enough evidence to assess the impact of concomitant manifestations on HRQOL and functional capacity. “Multimorbid patient presentations act to
accentuate the incidence risk of PAD in RA,” the study authors wrote. “The systematic inflammatory nature of RA likely contributes to the increased incidence of PAD within the population.”