Chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain shares a highly heritable latent pathway with atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness

Chronic widespread pain (CWP) is prevalent and associated with reduced life expectancy. Cardiovascular disease is one possible mechanism for this. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of CWP with arterial stiffness and carotid plaque measured using ultrasound to determine if shared environmental or genetic factors might account for any observed association. Around 3000 participants from the TwinsUK with CWP information and measures of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), and plaque were considered. The relationship between CWP and cfPWV, cIMT, and plaque was determined. UK Biobank data were used to replicate the association. Cholesky decomposition and multivariate pathway twin models were examined. Using a 2-sample Mendelian randomisation approach, the causal association between CWP and coronary artery disease was assessed. TwinsUK participants demonstrated a significant association between CWP and increased cfPWV consistent with arterial stiffening (OR = 1.35, P-value = 0.012), as well as the presence of carotid plaque (OR = 1.45, P-value = 0.8e-5). The twin modelling showed a common latent component and pathway underlying CWP, cfPWV, and carotid plaque, with genetic factors accounting for 68% and 90% of the latent factor variation, respectively. The 2-sample MR revealed a potential causal association between CWP and coronary artery disease. This study found that those with CWP have increased the risk of arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis and suggests that CWP leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease through genetic factors.