Individual impact of CV risk factors in RA

Rheumatoid arthritis

1 Mar 2015

An Australian led team of researchers have identified the individual impact traditional cardiovascular risk factors have on patients with RA.

The meta-analysis and systematic review of ten studies found that hypertension, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity independently increased the risk of death from cardiovascular causes. The magnitude of the risk was similar to the general population, the authors from Flinders University in Adelaide wrote in PLOS one.

Key findings:

Risk of combined CV morbidity

Hypertension: An overall RR of 2.24 (95% CI 1.42, 3.06)

Diabetes: RR 1.94 (95% CI 1.58, 2.30)

Smoking: RR 1.50 (95% CI. 1.15, 1.84)

Hypercholesterolaemia: RR 1.73 (95% CI 1.03, 2.44)

Obesity: RR 1.16 (95% CI 1.03, 1.29)

Physical inactivity: RR 1.00 (95% CI 0.71, 1.29)

Physical activity did not appear to have an impact on cardiovascular risk, a finding which the authors from said needed to be interpreted with caution.

“[the findings] suggests that a careful diagnosis and management of CV risk factors should be considered as important as the management of the symptoms of RA in mitigating the risk of CV morbidity and mortality amongst these patients,” they concluded.

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