Page 68 - SPONDYLOARTHRITIS IN COLOMBIA -

ABSTRACT:
Objectives Increased risk of comorbidities has been reported in spondyloarthritis (SpA). The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk of developing comorbidities in SpA- patients in three Latin America (LA) countries, and to compare that prevalence with the general- population.
Methods Data from 390 SpA-patients enrolled in the ASAS-COMOSPA study from Argentina, Colombia and Mexico were analyzed. Age and gender standardized-prevalence (95%CI) was estimated for arterial-hypertension (AHT), tuberculosis (TB), and malignancies. Age-and gender- specific data from general-population were obtained from CARMELA-study for AHT, Global TB- report and GLOBOCAN-project for malignancies. Data analyzed for AHT was confined to Colombia and Mexico. The prevalence in SpA-patients was compared with the prevalence in general- population per age- and gender-specific stratum resulting in standardized risk ratios (SRR).
Results In total, 64% of the SpA patients were male with a mean age of 45(SD 14.7) years. The most common comorbidities in the three LA-countries were, AHT (25.3%, 95%CI 21.2-30.0), hypercholesterolemia (21.5%, 95%CI 17.6-26.0) and osteoporosis (9.4%, 95%CI 6.8-12.9). AHT- prevalence in Colombia and Mexico was 21.4% (95%CI 15.4-28.9) and was increased compared to general-population (12.5%, 95%CI 11.4-13.7) resulting in an SRR of 1.5. TB-prevalence in the three LA-countries was 3.3% (95%CI 1.8-5.7), which was importantly higher than expected from general- population (0.32%), leading to an SRR of 10.3. The prevalence of malignancies was not increased.
Conclusions Patients with SpA in Latin-America are at increased risk of AHT and TB in comparison to the general-population. A systematic evaluation of these comorbidities may help to monitor these conditions.
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