Trial lecture - time and place
See trial lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Dr. Marie Holmquist, Karolinska Institutet
- Second opponent: Professor Lennart Jacobson, University of Gothenburg
- Chair of the committee: Professor Henrik Schirmer, University of Oslo
Chair of defence
Professor Arnljot Tveit, University of Oslo
Principal supervisor
Senior Researcher Anne Grete Semb, Diakonhjemmet Hospital
Summary
Patients with inflammatory joint diseases (IJD), including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) have increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Wibetoe investigated the prevalence of CVD risk factors (CVDRFs), such as hypertension, lipid abnormalities, diabetes mellitus, obesity and smoking, as well as indication for, and goal attainment of, antihypertensive and lipid lowering therapy among IJD patients. Estimated risk of CVD according to different risk models including absolute, relative and risk age calculations was also investigated. CVDRFs were often present not only in RA, but also in axSpA and PsA. Antihypertensive and/or lipid lowering therapy were frequently indicated, while few received adequate treatment. CVD risk calculations demonstrated that a high proportion of IJD patients had increased relative risk of future CVD. Wibetoe demonstrated comparable predictive ability of the cardiovascular risk age and vascular age models. Yet, the different proposed risk age models could yield highly discrepant results on the individual level, and need to be validated before use in clinical practice.
Additional information
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