March 10, 2009Arthritis Research & Therapy134 citationsOpen Access
Coronary arterial calcification in rheumatoid arthritis: comparison with the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Structured PICO
Is rheumatoid arthritis disease severity associated with increased coronary artery calcification compared to a general population cohort?
P
Population
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis
I
Intervention
Rheumatoid arthritis disease severity (exposure)
C
Comparator
Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort
O
Outcome
Prevalence and extent of coronary artery calcificationsurrogate
Rheumatoid arthritis severity is associated with increased coronary calcification, highlighting the need for cardiovascular prevention especially in men and younger patients with RA.
Abstract
Increasing rheumatoid arthritis disease severity was associated with a higher prevalence and greater extent of coronary artery calcification, potentially mediated through an atherogenic effect of chronic systemic inflammation. Gender and age differences in association with coronary calcification suggest that preventive measures should be emphasized in men with rheumatoid arthritis, and considered even in younger rheumatoid arthritis patients with low levels of traditional cardiovascular risk factors.
Cite This Study
Giles et al. (Tue,) studied this question.