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Arthritis as a risk factor for incident coronary heart disease in elderly Japanese-American males - the Honolulu

Mitsumasa Kishimoto1, Jeffrey Greenberg, Ryan Lee

  • 1Division of Rheumatology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. kishimotomitsumasa@yahoo.co.jp

Bulletin of the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases
|July 9, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Arthritis may not increase the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in elderly men. This study found no significant link between arthritis and developing CHD over eight years in older Japanese-American males.

Area of Science:

  • Gerontology
  • Cardiology
  • Rheumatology

Background:

  • Arthritis is a prevalent chronic condition in the elderly population.
  • Rheumatoid arthritis is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality.
  • Osteoarthritis is linked to adverse cardiovascular risk profiles.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between arthritis and incident coronary heart disease (CHD) in elderly Japanese-American males.
  • To determine if arthritis is an independent predictor of CHD in this demographic.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 3741 Japanese-American males (ages 71-93) were assessed for arthritis status.
  • Eight-year follow-up data for incident CHD was analyzed in 2777 subjects.
  • Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate relative risks, adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors.

Main Results:

  • Arthritis was not significantly associated with common cardiovascular risk factors.
  • The incidence of CHD was 11.7% in subjects with arthritis versus 9.8% without arthritis (p=0.24).
  • Arthritis was not a significant independent predictor of incident CHD (RR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.74-1.51).

Conclusions:

  • Arthritis, particularly osteoarthritis, may not be associated with most CHD risk factors.
  • The study suggests arthritis is not a significant independent predictor of 8-year incident CHD in elderly Japanese-American males.
Abstract

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