It was shown that the risk of developing cardiovascular disease is, on average, 1.56 times higher in patients with an autoimmune disease. The risk increases even further when multiple autoimmune diseases occur together. The diseases with the highest risk include systemic sclerosis, Addison’s disease, as well as lupus and type 1 diabetes.
Overall, the impact of autoimmunity on cardiovascular health appears to be far greater than previously thought, the research team shared. The additional risk of developing cardiovascular disease is most pronounced in patients with an autoimmune disease and under the age of 55, they also found.
“We see that the additional risk is comparable to that of type 2 diabetics. But where specific measures are taken in diabetic patients to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, this is not the case in patients with an autoimmune disease “, says research leader Nathalie Conrad (KU Leuven). “These results show that we must act”.
The research will be presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology this weekend and published in The Lancet.