HS Linked with Increased Risk of Inflammatory Arthritis

Patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) have an increased risk of developing ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, according to a large cohort study published online in JAMA Dermatology.

“Generally, the incidence of arthritis was low, resulting in only between 2 and 6 additional cases per 10,000 patients with HS per 1.5 years,” wrote researchers from Harvard Medical School and Tufts University School of Medicine. “Although the data support a systematic association between HS and subsequent newly diagnosed inflammatory joint disease, the low incremental risk is reassuring.”
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The study was based on longitudinal claims data for 70,697 patients with HS and 141,412 risk-set sampled patients without the skin condition. All patients were commercially insured and free of arthritis prior to the start of the study.

Over a median follow-up of 1.5 years, incidence rates for patients with HS compared with patients without HS were 0.60 vs 0.36 per 1000 for developing ankylosing spondylitis, 0.84 vs 0.58 for developing psoriatic arthritis, and 4.54 vs 3.86 per 1000 for developing rheumatoid arthritis, according to the study. Researchers did not identify an increased risk of other spondyloarthritis among patients with HS.

Due to the increased risk of inflammatory joint disease, researchers advised clinicians treating patients with HS to be on the lookout for morning stiffness, joint pain or swelling, and other signs of inflammatory arthritis.

—Jolynn Tumolo

Reference

Schneeweiss MC, Kim SC, Schneeweiss S, Rosmarin D, Merola JF. Risk of inflammatory arthritis after a new diagnosis of hidradenitis suppurativa [published online January 22, 2020]. JAMA Dermatology. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2019.4590