Cohort Study Gauges Incidence of Cardiovascular Events in Moderate-to-Severe AD

Incidence rates of cardiovascular events in Kaiser Permanente Northern California health plan members with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) were highest for major adverse cardiovascular events, followed by venous thrombotic events, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism. Researchers published their study in PLoS One.

“Although the risk of cardiovascular outcomes has been evaluated in the AD patient population, data on incidence rates of cardiovascular events among patients with moderate-to-severe AD are limited,” the authors explained in the study introduction. “Increasing AD severity has been associated with an increase in risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes … suggesting that patients with moderate-to-severe AD may be at greater cardiovascular risk than the broader AD population.”

The retrospective study included 8197 patients ages 12 and older with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in the Kaiser Permanente Northern California health care system. Patients in the cohort did not have any known risk factors for adverse events.

Per 1000 person-years, incident rates were an estimated 2.6 for major adverse cardiovascular events, 2.0 for venous thrombotic events, 1.6 for deep vein thrombosis, and 0.7 for pulmonary embolism, according to the study.

For all of the events, incidence rates were higher in older patients, patients with diabetes, patients with a smoking history, and men, the study found. The single exception was incidence of pulmonary embolism, which was higher in women.

“Although patients with AD have been found to be at an increased risk for several cardiovascular safety events …, prior studies did not report incidence rates of the events among patients with moderate-to-severe AD,” researchers wrote. “Therefore, the current data provided by this retrospective cohort study … fill a gap in the scientific literature about the incidence of cardiovascular events in patients with moderate-to-severe AD and provide valuable information for ongoing clinical trials as well as clinicians caring for patients with moderate-to-severe AD.”

Reference:
Hedderson MM, Asgari MM, Xu F, et al. Rates of cardiovascular events among patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in an integrated health care system: a retrospective cohort study. PLoS One. Published online November 17, 2022. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0277469