Association of aortic vascular uptake of 18FDG by PET/CT and aortic wall thickness by MRI in psoriasis: a prospective observational study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The contribution of inflammation to the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been increasingly recognized in recent years. We investigated the relationship of aortic vascular uptake of 18F-FDG by PET/CT and aortic wall thickness (AWT) by MRI in psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory disease with increased incidence of CVD. One hundred sixty-five patients with plaque psoriasis participated in an ongoing longitudinal cohort study. Subclinical atherosclerosis was assessed as aortic uptake of 18F-FDG by PET/CT reported as target-to-background ratio (TBR) and AWT by MRI reported as maximal thickness. RESULTS:Patients with psoriasis were middle aged, predominantly male, and had mild CV risk by traditional risk factors. Psoriasis severity as measured by PASI score was a notable determinant of AWT (??=?0.20, p?=?0.01). Moreover, aortic vascular uptake of 18F-FDG associated with AWT by MRI at baseline in unadjusted analysis (??=?0.27 p?=?0.001) and following adjustment for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, waist-to-hip ratio, and statin use (??=?0.21 p?=?0.01). Finally, following 1 year of psoriasis treatment, a decrease in aortic vascular uptake of 18F-FDG was associated with a reduction in AWT in fully adjusted models (??=?0.33, p?=?0.02). CONCLUSION:In conclusion, we demonstrate that psoriasis severity and aortic vascular uptake of 18F-FDG in the aorta were associated with AWT. Following treatment of psoriasis, a decrease in aortic vascular uptake of 18F-FDG was associated with a reduction in AWT at 1 year. These findings suggest that aortic vascular uptake of 18F-FDG is associated with early evidence of vascular disease assessed by aortic wall thickness. Prospective studies in larger populations including other inflammatory diseases are warranted.

SUBMITTER: Groenendyk JW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6901110 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature