Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the epidemiological aspects of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) patients in Slovenia, to evaluate the relationship between coronary CT angiography (CCTA)-derived epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) density and coronary artery calcifications (CAC) in patients with and without DISH, and study influencing factors of these parameters.

Patients and methods: The research comprised patients referred for CCTA due to a clinical suspicion of coronary artery disease. DISH, CAC score and EAT attenuation were quantified using non-contrast imaging. Diagnosis of DISH was based on Resnick criteria. The CCTA was assessed for the presence of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). The association between DISH and the extent of CAC was explored, using correlation analysis and multivariate regression.

Results: The study cohort included 219 participants. The prevalence of DISH was 7.8%. In univariate logistic regression, body mass index (BMI) (odds ratio [OR] 1.133, p = 0,005), age (OR 1.055, p = 0,032) and diabetes (OR 3.840, p = 0,015) were significantly associated with the condition. However, this association did not persist on multinomial multivariate analysis, but gender, age, hypertension and EAT attenuation were found to be significantly associated with the increasing CAC strata.

Conclusions: The prevalence of DISH found is comparable with prior literature. There was no independent relationship between the prevalence of DISH and CAC. Our data point to a more nuanced and perhaps non-causal link between coronary artery disease and DISH.

Keywords: body mass index; coronary artery calcification; coronary artery disease; diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis; epicardial adipose tissue; metabolic syndrome.

© 2025 Vesna Lesjak et al., published by Sciendo.