In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, men had a higher prevalence of elevated total cholesterol than women (77.6% vs 25.8%, p<0.001), while women had a 2.3-fold higher risk of atrial fibrillation.
Observational (n=200)
Does gender affect the type of cardiovascular complications in patients with rheumatoid arthritis?
In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, men are more likely to have elevated total cholesterol, while women have a significantly higher risk of atrial fibrillation and pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Absolute Event Rate: 77.6% vs 25.8%
p-value: p=<0.001
Background and Objectives: The risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is two times higher compared to the general population. The objective of this retrospective study was to determine the type of cardiovascular complications that can appear in men vs. women with rheumatoid arth-ritis. Early diagnosis and initiation of therapeutic measures to reduce the progression rate of rheumatoid arthritis, while also maintaining an active lifestyle, are the most important problems in young patients. Materials and Methods: We included a number of 200 pa-tients, divided in 2 groups according to gender (124 women and 76 men) with rheumatoid arthritis, presenting various stages of disease concomitant with cardiovascular complications. We assessed traditional and non-traditional risk factors, electrocardio-graphic and echocardiographic findings in both groups. Results: All patients presented an atherogenic coefficient over two, indicating a significant risk of atherogenesis. Men had elevated levels of total cholesterol compared with women (≥ 200 mg/dL; 77.6% - men vs. 25.8% - women, p0.001). The participants presented cardiac arrhythmias, especially in the active stage of RA. Women had an increased risk of atrial fibrillation by 2.308 times compared with men (p=0.020). One of the most important complications in young women was pulmonary arterial hypertension (p=0.007). Conclusion: However, in daily clinical practice, the screening for RA is poorly done. Thus, patients are often undiagnosed, while the risk factors are not assessed and RA patients continue to present an increased risk of developing CVD.
Rus et al. (Thu,) conducted a observational in Rheumatoid arthritis (n=200). Male gender vs. Female gender was evaluated on Elevated total cholesterol (≥ 200 mg/dL) (p=<0.001). In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, men had a higher prevalence of elevated total cholesterol than women (77.6% vs 25.8%, p<0.001), while women had a 2.3-fold higher risk of atrial fibrillation.