Cardiovascular and Cardiometabolic Risk in HS Demands Greater Clinical Attention, With Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD

Patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) face a broad spectrum of cardiovascular and cardiometabolic comorbidities, with risk elevations for multiple major outcomes that are consistent across study designs and geographic regions, according to a recent review and meta-analysis presented at the 2026 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting held in Denver, Colorado, from March 27-31.

HCPLive caught up with investigator Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, clinical associate professor of medicine at Rosalind Franklin University Chicago Medical School and founder and director of the Center for Medical Dermatology + Immunology Research in Chicago, Illinois, during the meeting, who argued that these findings should push dermatologists toward more systematic cardiovascular risk assessment in patients with HS.

The study was a PRISMA-guided systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis of studies identified through a search of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library from inception through June 16, 2025. Twenty-five studies encompassing 373,689 patients with clinician-diagnosed HS were included. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed using the DerSimonian-Laird estimator, with between-study heterogeneity quantified using Cochran's Q, τ², and I².

Pooled prevalence estimates revealed a broad comorbidity profile across the included populations. Hypertension was the most prevalent condition, affecting 25.52% (95% CI, 20.88-30.45) of patients. Other pooled prevalence estimates included coronary artery disease at 4.2% (95% CI, 1.8-7.4), congestive heart failure at 1.9% (95% CI, 1.2-2.7), myocardial infarction at 1.9% (95% CI, 1.2-2.7), atrial fibrillation or flutter at 1.7% (95% CI, 1.0-2.6), cerebrovascular disease at 2.2% (95% CI, 1.2-3.3), and peripheral vascular disease at 2.2% (95% CI, 0.9-3.9).

The risk association analyses yielded findings Chovatiya described as the most clinically consequential output of the meta-analysis. HS was associated with a risk ratio (RR) of 1.85 (95% CI, 1.44-2.38) for heart failure, 1.75 (95% CI, 1.59-1.92) for coronary and ischemic heart disease, and 1.51 (95% CI, 1.22-1.88) for myocardial infarction. Risk of venous thromboembolism was also elevated, with an RR of 1.72 (95% CI, 1.45-2.05), as was all-cause mortality, with an RR of 1.86 (95% CI, 1.10-3.12). HS was additionally associated with a 52% increased odds of hypertension versus comparators (odds ratio, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.29-1.80). These associations were consistent across study designs and geographic regions. Chovatiya noted that while some pooled prevalence estimates were numerically similar to general population ranges, HS cohorts were disproportionately younger and female — populations in which this degree of cardiovascular risk is not typically expected — suggesting the clinical significance of these findings exceeds what raw prevalence numbers alone convey.

Chovatiya characterized the breadth of the comorbidity profile as the finding that most surprised him on reflection, noting that the aggregated published literature paints a picture of risk that extends across virtually every major cardiovascular outcome category. He framed the findings as supporting a shift toward routine cardiometabolic risk assessment and multidisciplinary preventive care in HS, while acknowledging that the most pressing unanswered question — whether timely targeted therapy modifies these outcomes — cannot be addressed by the existing retrospective observational evidence base. Most included studies lacked detailed reporting on HS severity, treatment exposure, and longitudinal risk factor trajectories, precluding causal inference. Prospective cohort studies and registry-based approaches capturing patients at or near disease onset will be needed to establish whether early intervention changes the cardiovascular trajectory in this population.

“I think what's really probably missing is, in addition to what I talked about [with] good prospective epidemiology, is trying to connect therapeutic intervention to some of these functional outcomes to see, indeed, if these are real risk factors, does timely intervention with targeted treatments make a difference,” Chovatiya said.

Chovatiya previously reported serving as an advisor, consultant, speaker, and/or investigator for AbbVie, Amgen, Apogee Therapeutics, Arcutis, Argenx, ASLAN Pharmaceuticals, Beiersdorf, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cara Therapeutics, Dermavant, Eli Lilly and Company, FIDE, Formation Bio, Galderma, Genentech, GSK, Incyte, LEO Pharma, L’Oréal, Nektar Therapeutics, Novartis, Opsidio, Pfizer Inc., Regeneron, RAPT, Sanofi, Sitryx, and UCB.

References

1. Mense SA, Hopkins T, Chovatiya R. Prevalence and risk of cardiovascular comorbidities and cardiometabolic factors in hidradenitis suppurativa: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Poster #76428. Presented at: AAD Annual Meeting; Denver, Colorado; March 27-31, 2026.

2. Egeberg A, Gislason GH, Hansen PR. Risk of major adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa. JAMA Dermatol. 2016;152(4):429-434. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2015.6264