Main features of a series of 370 patients with RA without cardiovascular events that were assessed by carotid ultrasonography
| Variable | Category | Number (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Sex | Women | 298 (80) |
| RF | Positive | 220 (60) |
| Anti-CCP | Positive | 182 (52) |
| RF and or anti-CCP | At least one of them positive | 250 (68) |
| Presence of extra-articular manifestations | Yes | 61 (17) |
| Smoking | Yes | 46 (12) |
| Carotid IMT* | >0.90 mm | 46 (12) |
| Carotid plaques | No | 175 (47) |
| Yes | 195 (53) | |
| Unilateral | 67 (18) | |
| Bilateral | 128 (35) | |
| Severe abnormality of carotid ultrasound | IMT >0.90 mm and/or plaques | 196 (53) |
| Variable | Mean (SD) | |
| Age at the time of the carotid ultrasonography (years) | 58.9 (13.7) | |
| Disease duration (years) | 9.8 (8.3) | |
| Systolic blood pressure mm Hg | 133.6 (19.6) | |
| Diastolic blood pressure mm Hg | 78.2 (8.3) | |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dl) | 209.3 (38.7) | |
| HDL-cholesterol (mg/dl) | 63.7 (18.2) | |
| Atherogenic index | 3.50 (1.00) | |
| SCORE | 1.83 (2.03) | |
| Modified SCORE† | 2.16 (2.49) | |
| Carotid IMT mm | 0.71 (0.16) | |
*45 of the 46 RA patients with carotid IMT >0.90 mm also had carotid plaques.
†According to the EULAR recommendations.
Anti-CCP, anticyclic citrullinated peptide; EULAR, European League Against Rheumatism; IMT, intima-media thickness; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; RF, rheumatoid factor; SCORE, systematic coronary risk evaluation.