the association of psoriatic arthritis with carotid intima-media thickness

Background: previous studies have showed that psoriatic arthritis increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis. on the other hand, an increased carotid intima-media thickness can be associated with atherosclerosis. the present study aimed to evaluate the association between psoriatic arthritis and carotid intima-media thickness. methods: in this case-control study performed during 2018, 22 patients with psoriatic arthritis and 22 healthy controls matched for age and sex were participated. in all subjects, the carotid intima-media thickness was measured by ultrasonography. systemic inflammatory markers, including c-reactive protein (crp) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (esr) were assessed in psoriatic arthritis patients. results: the mean carotid intima-media thickness was 56±0.10 mm in the psoriatic arthritis patients and 54±0.07 mm in the control group with no significant difference (p=0.358). according to the regression analysis, carotid intima-media thickness had no positive correlation with age, sex and body mass index. the carotid intima-media thickness increased in psoriatic arthritis patients with increasing the duration of arthritis, disease activity (das-28), crp, and esr, but the correlations were not statistically significant. conclusion: the study findings do not support the previous reports that claimed a potential correlation between mean carotid intima-media thickness and psoriatic arthritis.