High Levels of Anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Autoantibodies Are Associated with Co-occurrence of Pulmonary Diseases with Rheumatoid Arthritis

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether levels of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP2) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are associated with the co-occurrence of lung diseases. METHODS: A total of 252 RA patients were included in a cross-sectional study. Pulmonary disease was confirmed by high-resolution chest computed tomography scan. Circulating anti-CCP2 were quantified using ELISA. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to identify independent risk factors for lung disease. RESULTS: Male sex (OR 3.29, 95% CI 1.59-6.80) and high anti-CCP2 levels (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.25-1.78) were identified as independent risk factors for lung disease in the RA population. CONCLUSION: High anti-CCP2 levels are associated with lung disease in the RA population.