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Age, rheumatoid factor among risks for metabolic syndrome in RA patients
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Patients with rheumatoid arthritis did not experience a greater prevalence of metabolic syndrome compared with controls, although the patients’ age and rheumatoid factor positivity were risk factors, according to recent study results.
Researchers in Argentina conducted a cross-sectional study between March 2010 and May 2011 of 409 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA; mean age, 55.5 years; 83% women) and 624 age- and sex-matched controls who all were diagnosed with osteoarthritis, musculoskeletal trauma, low back pain and fibromyalgia. All patients were followed up at nine rheumatology units. Analysis included Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definitions of metabolic syndrome (MS), major cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, including dyslipidemia, obesity, hypertension and diabetes. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the relationship between MS and demographic variables, clinical data and pharmacological treatment.
Using the ATP III standard, MS frequency in RA patients was 30% compared with 39% among controls (P=.002) and 35% vs. 40%, respectively, under the IDF definition (P=.1). Multivariate analysis showed age (OR=1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.06 for ATP III; OR=1.03, 95% CI, 1.01-1.05 for IDF), presence of rheumatoid factor (RF) and/or anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (ACCP) antibody (OR=2.91: 95% CI, 1.11-7.61 for ATP III; OR=2.37; 95% CI, 1.09-5.16 for IDF) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) use (OR=0.48; 95% CI, 0.23-0.97 for IDF) were independently associated with MS in the RA patients.
“We found a high frequency of MS among patients with RA,” the researchers reported. “However … the frequency of MS was not higher in patients with RA compared with non-RA patients. … Still, the frequency of this condition was high enough to warrant its evaluation among this population, especially in those older patients with positive RF and/or ACCP antibodies. The patients taking HCQ were less likely to have MS.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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