Abstract
BackgroundThis study was aimed at evaluating the aerobic capacity of patients with antisynthetase syndrome (ASS) and dermatomyositis (DM) and analyzing possible relationships between aerobic capacity and disease status, cardiovascular diseases and their risk factors.MethodsThe study was a cross-sectional, single-center study that assessed the aerobic capacity of 22 women (13 with DM and 9 with ASS) who were matched by age and body mass index to 17 healthy women (control group). The aerobic capacity (oxygen uptake [VO2 peak], anaerobic threshold, respiratory compensation point and time-to-exhaustion) was evaluated using the cardiopulmonary treadmill test. Disease status was assessed using International Myositis Assessment & Clinical Studies Group (IMACS) set scores.ResultsThe patients had low IMACS parameters that showed low or absent disease activity. The distribution of cardiovascular diseases and their risk factors was similar between the patients and the control group (P > 0.05) at the time of the analysis. The patients with DM and the control group had similar aerobic capacity. However, the patients with ASS exhibited significantly reduced aerobic capacity (relative VO2 peak, anaerobic threshold, respiratory compensation point and time to exhaustion) when compared to the control group. In addition, patients with ASS had a lower anaerobic threshold compared to the DM group. There were no significant relationships between the aerobic capacity and disease status, cardiovascular diseases and their risk factors.ConclusionIn contrast to DM patients and healthy individuals, patients with stable ASS have significantly impaired aerobic capacity, which is unlikely to be totally explained by traditional cardiovascular diseases, their risk factors and disease status. Further studies are needed to corroborate our data and to clarify the cause of this reduced aerobic capacity in ASS.
Highlights
Systemic autoimmune myopathies (SAMs) are a group of rare systemic autoimmune diseases that are clinically characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness [1]
Patients with SAMs have a high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and their risk factors [4,5,6,7]
The impairment observed in the antisynthetase syndrome (ASS) group was apparently independent of the traditional factors that interfere with aerobic capacity parameters, such as CVDs and their risk factors, disease status and patients’ drug treatment schemes
Summary
Systemic autoimmune myopathies (SAMs) are a group of rare systemic autoimmune diseases that are clinically characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness [1]. Patients with SAMs have a high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and their risk factors [4,5,6,7]. Sedentary behavior and physical inactivity may result in high rates of CVD risk factors and reduced aerobic capacity in the long term [8, 9]. The aerobic capacity is mainly used to evaluate the response of the cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal and energy metabolism systems to the effort, enabling early detection of complications (2020) 60:3 in these systems; it is an important predictive tool of CVDs’ outcomes and comorbidities [11]. This study was aimed at evaluating the aerobic capacity of patients with antisynthetase syndrome (ASS) and dermatomyositis (DM) and analyzing possible relationships between aerobic capacity and disease status, cardiovascular diseases and their risk factors
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