The risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with systemic sclerosis: a nationwide, population-based cohort study

Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to assess the incidence and risk factors of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Methods We conducted a nationwide, population-based, cohort study using Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database. We performed propensity score matching (PSM) using a 1:2 ratio, resulting in inclusion of 1379 patients with SSc and 2758 non-SSc individuals in the analysis. We assessed the association between SSc and MACEs, using the multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression model with adjustment of time-dependent covariates, and investigated risk factors for MACEs in patients with SSc, shown as adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) with 95% CIs. Results SSc was not significantly associated with the risk of MACEs (aHR 1.04; 95% CI 0.77–1.42). Nevertheless, SSc was associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction [incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.76; 95% CI 1.08–2.86] and peripheral arterial occlusion disease (IRR 3.67; 95% CI 2.84–4.74) but not of ischaemic stroke (IRR 0.89; 95% CI 0.61–1.29). Factors independently associated with MACEs in SSc patients included age (aHR 1.02), male gender (aHR 2.01), living in a suburban area (aHR 2.09), living in a rural area (aHR 3.00), valvular heart disease (aHR 4.26), RA (aHR 2.14), use of clopidogrel (aHR 26.65), and use of aspirin (aHR 5.31). Conclusions The risk of MACEs was not significantly increased in Taiwanese patients with SSc, and our investigation effectively identified the factors independently associated with MACEs in SSc patients. Additionally, patients with SSc exhibited higher risks of myocardial infarction and peripheral arterial occlusion disease but not of ischaemic stroke.