Association between systemic sclerosis and peripheral arterial disease: a nationwide observation retrospective claim records cohort study in Taiwan

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies have proposed associations between systemic sclerosis (SSc) and atherosclerosis and between SSc and cardiovascular disease. However, in Asia, no large-scale studies have focused on the association between peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and SSc. SETTING: A nationwide observation retrospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: The National Health Insurance Research Database was used for selecting patients diagnosed with SSc from 2000 to 2011. Patients diagnosed with PAD before the index date were excluded. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The SSc cohort comprised 1106 patients with SSc, and the non-SSc cohort comprised 4424 matched controls. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used for analysing the adjusted risk of PAD between the case and control patients. RESULTS: The SSc cohort exhibited a significantly higher risk (HR=2.15, 95% CI=1.47 to 3.14) of PAD than did the non-SSc cohort. Patients with heart failure exhibited the highest risk of PAD (adjusted HR=2.10, 95% CI=1.20 to 3.70). Moreover, even without any comorbidities, the SSc cohort exhibited a significantly higher risk (adjusted HR=4.17 fold, 95% CI=1.98 to 8.77) of PAD than did the non-SSc cohort. CONCLUSION: SSc is associated with a significantly high risk of PAD. Further studies are required to reduce the PAD risk among patients with SSc.