Main features of a series of 104 patients with rheumatoid arthritis without cardiovascular events
| Variable | Category | Number (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Sex | Women | 73 (70.2) |
| Rheumatoid factor | Positive | 61 (58.7) |
| Anti-CCP | Positive | 60 (57.7) |
| Rheumatoid factor and/or anti-CCP | At least one of them positive | 75 (72.1) |
| Presence of extra-articular manifestations* | Yes | 17 (16.4) |
| Smoking | Yes | 42 (40.4) |
| Carotid intima-media thickness >0.90 mm | Yes | 17 (16.4) |
| Carotid plaques | Yes | 77 (74.0) |
| CACS>100 | Yes | 21 (20.2) |
| Variable | Mean (SD) |
|---|---|
| Age at the time of the carotid ultrasonography assessment (SD), years | 59.3 (10.3) |
| Disease duration (SD), years | 10.8 (8.3) |
| Systolic blood pressure (SD), mm Hg | 135.6 (19.9) |
| Diastolic blood pressure (SD), mm Hg | 78.9 (8.1) |
| Total cholesterol (SD), mg/dL | 215.2 (43.6) |
| HDL-cholesterol (SD), mg/dL | 63.4 (19.2) |
| Atherogenic index (SD) | 3.62 (1.11) |
| SCORE† (SD) | 2.30 (2.53) |
| Modified SCORE‡ (SD) | 2.78 (3.28) |
| Carotid intima-media thickness (SD), mm | 0.75 (0.16) |
*Extra-articular manifestations: Secondary Sjögren's syndrome in eight cases, nodular disease in six patients (one of them with pulmonary nodules), pulmonary fibrosis in three patients, pleuritis/pericarditis in three cases, peripheral neuropathy in one case and Raynaud's phenomenon in one case.5
†According to SCORE for the general population.23 ,24
‡Modified SCORE for rheumatoid arthritis: according to the EULAR recommendations.8
CACS, Coronary Artery Calcification Score; EULAR, European League Against Rheumatism; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; SCORE, Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation.