WEDNESDAY, March 26, 2025 -- For patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, the risk for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) does not differ for treatment with ustekinumab versus adalimumab, etanercept, or secukinumab, according to a study published online March 13 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Jonas Banefelt, from Quantify Research in Stockholm, and colleagues examined the risk for MACE among patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis treated with ustekinumab versus adalimumab, etanercept, or secukinumab in routine clinical practice in a new-user, active-comparator, observational cohort study using patient-level data from Swedish national registers.

A total of 15,502 patients were included (852 treated with ustekinumab); during follow-up, 147 MACE were observed. The researchers found that the hazard ratios (95 percent confidence intervals) were 1.07 (0.49 to 2.33), 1.08 (0.48 to 2.42), and 1.19 (0.46 to 3.10) when comparing ustekinumab with adalimumab, etanercept, and secukinumab, respectively.

"The overall risk of MACE was low across treatment groups, and no meaningful difference in risk of MACE between ustekinumab and the other treatments was observed," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to biopharmaceutical companies, including Janssen, which manufactures ustekinumab and funded the study.