Rates of joint surgery higher with psoriatic arthritis

(HealthDay)—The five-year incidence rate of joint surgery in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients is twice as high as in the general population, and this rate has remained steady over time, according to a study published in the November issue of Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Jorgen Guldberg-Moller, M.D., from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, and colleagues used the Danish National Patient Registry to identify incident PsA patients to assess trends and the cumulative incidence of joint surgery among PsA patients versus the general population.

The researchers found that from 1996 to 2017, there were 11,960 registered PsA patients (mean age, 50 years; 57 percent female). The incidence rate ratio of any joint surgery was twice as high for PsA patients versus the general population across all time periods. At five, 10, and 15 years after diagnosis, 2, 10, and 29 percent of patients with PsA, respectively, required joint surgery. For patients diagnosed with PsA at 18 to 40 years, the risk for surgery was higher than in the general population aged ≥60 years (22 versus 20 percent) after 15 years of follow-up.

"Clinicians should be aware of high joint-related surgical rates in the PsA population and implement a treat-to-target strategy early after diagnosis," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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