Impact of Hand Osteoarthritis on Arterial Stiffness

Impact of Hand Osteoarthritis on Arterial Stiffness

Patients affected by osteoarthritis (OA) have an increase overall mortality compared to the general population, mainly due to cardiovascular diseases. OA patients without cardiovascular risk have a 10 years cardiovascular events higher of around 15-30 %. Although the molecular mechanisms are still not well known, the structure and function of the vessel wall can be affected by several inflammatory and metabolic parameters during OA.These functional and structural changes of the arterial wall leads to arterial stiffness, measured by the pulse-wave velocity (PWV). PWV is the most widely used technique to assess arterial stiffness and has been shown to have predictive value for morbidity and mortality. In our study, we planned to compare arterial stiffness in OA patients with healthy subjects.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with clinical hand OA defined according to the ACR (American College of Rheumatology) criteria.
• Patients with radiographic hand OA defined according to the Kellgren
• Lawrence criteria (≥ 2).
• Steady dose of statins for at least one month.
• Subject affiliated to a social security scheme
• Written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis or other inflammatory arthritis diseases.
• History of arterial hypertension treated and / or uncontrolled (SBP > 140 mmHg and DBP (diastolic blood pressure) > 90 mmHg)
• Diabetes (fasting blood glucose > 7 mmol/L)
• Obesity (BMI > 35 kg/m²)
• Chronic renal failure defined by a glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/min/1,73m ².
• Patient with uncontrolled cardiovascular disease or a personal history of cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction and angina, occlusive arterial disease, stroke)
• Pregnant or breastfeeding, or premenopausal and not taking an effective contraception