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- Hörnberg, Kristina, et al.
(author)
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Aerobic capacity over 16 years in patients with rheumatoid arthritis : relationship to disease activity and risk factors for cardiovascular disease
- 2017
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public library science. - 1932-6203. ; 12:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this study was to analyse the change in aerobic capacity from disease onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) over 16.2 years, and its associations with disease activity and cardiovascular risk factors. Twenty-five patients (20 f/5 m), diagnosed with RA 1995-2002 were tested at disease onset and after mean 16.2 years. Parameters measured were: sub-maximal ergometer test for aerobic capacity, functional ability, self-efficacy, ESR, CRP and DAS28. At follow-up, cardiovascular risk factors were assessed as blood lipids, glucose concentrations, waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), body composition, pulse wave analysis and carotid intima-media thickness. Aerobic capacity [median (IQR)] was 32.3 (27.9-42.1) ml O2/kg x min at disease onset, and 33.2 (28.4-38.9) at follow-up (p>0.05). Baseline aerobic capacity was associated with follow-up values of: BMI (rs = -.401, p = .047), waist circumference (rs = -.498, p = .011), peripheral pulse pressure (rs = -.415, p = .039) self-efficacy (rs = .420, p = .037) and aerobic capacity (rs = .557, p = .004). In multiple regression models adjusted for baseline aerobic capacity, disease activity at baseline and over time predicted aerobic capacity at follow-up (AUC DAS28, 0-24 months; β = -.14, p = .004). At follow-up, aerobic capacity was inversely associated with blood glucose levels (rs = -.508, p = .016), BMI (rs = -.434, p = .030), body fat% (rs = -.419, p = .037), aortic pulse pressure (rs = -.405, p = .044), resting heart rate (rs = -.424, p = .034) and self-efficacy (rs = .464, p = .020) at follow-up. We conclude that the aerobic capacity was maintained over 16 years. High baseline aerobic capacity associated with favourable measures of cardiovascular risk factors at follow-up. Higher disease activity in early stages of RA predicted lower aerobic capacity after 16.2 years.
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- Innala, Lena, 1060-, et al.
(author)
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Co-morbidity in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis - inflammation matters
- 2016
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In: Arthritis Research & Therapy. - : BioMed Central. - 1478-6362. ; 18
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) suffer from co-morbidities that contribute to a shortened lifespan. Inflammation is important for the development of cardiovascular disease, but little is known on its relationship with other co-morbidities. We investigated the role of inflammation for the development of new comorbidities in early RA. Methods: Since 1995, all patients with early RA in Northern Sweden are included in a prospective study on comorbidities, with a total of 950 patients being included. At the time for this study, 726 had been ill for >= 5 years. Data on co-morbidities, clinical and laboratory disease activity and pharmacological therapy were collected from patient records and further validated using a questionnaire at RA onset (T0) and after 5 years (T5). Results: Of the patients, 53.2 % of the patients had one or more co-morbidity at onset, the commonest being: hypertension (27.3 %), obstructive pulmonary disease (13.9 %), diabetes (8.0 %), hypothyroidism (6.3 %) and malignancy (5.0 %). After 5 years, 41.0 % had developed at least one new co-morbidity, the most common being: hypertension (15.1 %), malignancy (7.6 %), stroke/transient ischemic accident (5.1 %), myocardial infarction (4.3 %) and osteoporosis (3.7 %). Age at disease onset, a raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) at inclusion, previous treatment with glucocorticoids (GC; p < 0.001 for all), extra-articular RA (Ex-RA; p < 0.01), DAS28 (area under the curve) at 24 months (p < 0.05), previous smoking at inclusion (p = 0.058) and male gender (p < 0.01) were associated with a new co-morbidity overall at T5. Treatment with biologics (p < 0.05) reduced the risk. In multiple logistic regression modelling, ESR (p = 0.036) at inclusion was associated with a new co-morbidity after 5 years, adjusted for age, sex, smoking and GC treatment. In a similar model, Ex-RA (p < 0.05) was associated with a new co-morbidity at T5. In a third model, adjusted for age and sex, a new pulmonary co-morbidity was associated with a smoking history at inclusion (p < 0.01), but not with ESR. Conclusion: There was substantial co-morbidity among early RA patients already at disease onset, with considerable new co-morbidity being added during the first five years. Measures of disease activity were associated with the occurrence of a new co-morbidity indicating that the inflammation is of importance in this context.
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- Södergren, Anna, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Biomarkers associated with cardiovascular disease in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis
- 2019
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 14:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have an increased mortality and morbidity due to cardiovascular disease (CVD). In this prospective 5-year follow up of patients with RA, we analysed several biomarkers, known to be associated with atherosclerosis and/or inflammation in the general population. The aim of this study was to find out whether the RA-disease per se affect these biomarkers and if those could be associated with the progression of atherosclerosis, as measured by intima media thickness (IMT) among patients with early RA.Methods: Patients from northern Sweden diagnosed with early RA, are consecutively recruited into an ongoing prospective study on CVD comorbidity. A subgroup of patients, aged ≤60 years (n = 71) was included for ultrasound measurements of IMT at inclusion (T0) and after 5 years (T5) together with age-sex-matched controls (n = 40). The patients were clinically assessed. Blood was analysed for lipids, ESR and CRP and several biomarkers known to be associated with atherosclerosis in the general population.Results: At T0, the patients with RA had significantly lower levels of MIF and significantly higher levels of interleukin (IL)-18 and MIC-1 compared with controls. At T5, the patients with RA had significantly higher levels of pentraxin3, MIC-1, TNF-R2, ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and endostatin compared with controls. At T0 the levels of MPO correlated with DAS28, sCD40L with CRP and IL-18 with systolic blood pressure and Reynolds risk score. Using PLSR on a CVD-panel analysed with multiplex immunoassay, the patients with RA could be correctly classified into those who had a worsening in their IMT over the five years or not. Here, MMP3 was identified as influential.Conclusions: This study indicates that the RA disease itself could affect several of the biomarkers in this study, and possibly also the processes involved in the development of atherosclerosis.
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- Södergren, Anna, et al.
(author)
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Is Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A2a Link between Inflammation and Subclinical Atherosclerosis inRheumatoid Arthritis?
- 2015
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In: BioMed Research International. - : Hindawi Publishing Corporation. - 2314-6133 .- 2314-6141.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective. Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2), a marker of vascular inflammation, is associated with cardiovascular disease. This prospective study of an inception cohort aimed to investigate whether the level of Lp-PLA2 is associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods. Patients from northern Sweden diagnosed with early RA were consecutively recruited into an ongoing prospective study. From these, all patients <= 60 years (n = 71) were included for measurements of subclinical atherosclerosis at inclusion (T0) and five years later (T5). Forty age-and sex-matched controls were included. The patients were clinically assessed, SCORE, Reynolds Risk Score, and Larsen score were calculated, and blood samples were drawn from all individuals at T0 and T5. Results. There was no significant difference in the level of Lp-PLA2 between patients with RA and controls (p > 0.05). In simple linear regression models among patients with RA, Lp-PLA2 at T0 was significantly associated with intima media thickness (IMT) at T0 and T5, flow mediated dilation (FMD) at T0 and T5, ever smoking, male sex, HDL-cholesterol (inversely), non-HDL-cholesterol, SCORE, Reynolds Risk Score, and Larsen score (p < 0.05). Conclusion. In this cohort of patients with early RA, the concentration of Lp-PLA2 was associated with both subclinical atherosclerosis and disease severity.
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| 8. |
- Södergren, Anna, et al.
(author)
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The Extent of Subclinical Atherosclerosis Is Partially Predicted by the Inflammatory Load : A Prospective Study over 5 Years in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Matched Controls
- 2015
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In: Journal of Rheumatology. - : The Journal of Rheumatology. - 0315-162X .- 1499-2752. ; 42:6, s. 935-942
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective. This prospective followup study investigated subclinical atherosclerosis in relation to traditional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) recruited at diagnosis compared with controls. Methods. Patients diagnosed with early RA were consecutively recruited into a prospective study. From these, a subgroup aged <= 60 years (n = 71) was consecutively included for ultrasound measurement of intima-media thickness (IMT) and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) at inclusion (T0) and after 5 years (T5). Age-and sex-matched controls (n = 40) were also included. Results. In the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, both IMT and FMD were significantly aggravated at T5 compared to baseline in patients with RA, whereas only IMT was significantly increased in controls. In univariate linear regression analyses among patients with RA, the IMT at T5 was significantly associated with age, systolic blood pressure (BP), cholesterol, triglycerides, Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE), and Reynolds Risk Score at baseline (p < 0.05). Similarly, FMD at T5 was significantly inversely associated with age, smoking, systolic BP, SCORE, and Reynolds Risk Score (p < 0.05). A model with standardized predictive value from multiple linear regression models including age, smoking, BP, and blood lipids at baseline significantly predicted the observed value of IMT after 5 years. When also including the area under the curve for the 28-joint Disease Activity Score over 5 years, the observed value of IMT was predicted to a large extent. Conclusion. This prospective study identified an increased subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with RA. In the patients with RA, several traditional CVD risk factors at baseline significantly predicted the extent of subclinical atherosclerosis 5 years later. The inflammatory load over time augmented this prediction.
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- Wahlin, Bengt, et al.
(author)
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Performance of the Expanded Cardiovascular Risk Prediction Score for Rheumatoid Arthritis Is Not Superior to the ACC/AHA Risk Calculator
- 2019
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In: Journal of Rheumatology. - : Journal of Rheumatology. - 0315-162X .- 1499-2752. ; , s. 130-137
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Cardiovascular (CV) risk estimation calculators for the general population do not perform well in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). An RA-specific risk calculator has been developed, but did not perform better than a risk calculator for the general population when validated in a heterogeneous multinational cohort.METHODS: In a cohort of patients with new-onset RA from northern Sweden (n = 665), the risk of CV disease was estimated by the Expanded Cardiovascular Risk Prediction Score for Rheumatoid Arthritis (ERS-RA) and the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association algorithm (ACC/AHA). The ACC/AHA estimation was analyzed, both as crude data and when adjusted according to the recommendations by the European League Against Rheumatism (ACC/AHA × 1.5). ERS-RA was calculated using 2 variants: 1 from patient and physician reports of hypertension (HTN) and hyperlipidemia [ERS-RA (reported)] and 1 from assessments of blood pressure (BP) and blood lipids [ERS-RA (measured)]. The estimations were compared with observed CV events.RESULTS: All variants of risk calculators underestimated the CV risk. Discrimination was good for all risk calculators studied. Performance of all risk calculators was poorer in patients with a high grade of inflammation, whereas ACC/AHA × 1.5 performed best in the high-inflammatory patients. In those patients with an estimated risk of 5-15%, no risk calculator performed well.CONCLUSION: ERS-RA underestimated the risk of a CV event in our cohort of patients, especially when risk estimations were based on patient or physician reports of HTN and hyperlipidemia instead of assessment of BP and blood lipids. The performance of ERS-RA was no better than that of ACC/AHA × 1.5, and neither performed well in high-inflammatory patients.
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- Wibetoe, Grunde, et al.
(author)
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Performance of Cardiovascular Risk Age and Vascular Age Estimations in Predicting Cardiovascular Events in Rheumatoid Arthritis
- 2017
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In: Arthritis & Rheumatology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 2326-5191 .- 2326-5205. ; 69
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Background/Purpose: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are at high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Risk algorithms for the general population lack precision when applied to RA patients and validated RA-specific CVD prediction models are missing. Risk age estimations are recommended as adjuncts to assessment of absolute 10-year risk of fatal CVD events. Two risk age models based on the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) algorithm have been developed; the cardiovascular risk age and the vascular age. However, the performance of these models has not been compared. Using longitudinal data on CVD events in RA patients, we aimed to compare the discriminative ability of cardiovascular risk age and vascular age among RA patients and in subgroups of RA patients based on disease characteristics. Methods: Patients with RA were included from an international consortium, aged 30-70 years at baseline. Those with prior CVD, diabetes and/or users of lipid-lowering and/or antihypertensive therapy at baseline were excluded. Cardiovascular risk age was estimated based on chronologic age, smoking status, total cholesterol and systolic blood pressure at baseline. Vascular age was derived from the 10-year risk of CVD according to the SCORE algorithm, with or without high density lipoprotein cholesterol, using the equations for low and high risk countries. Performance of each risk age model in predicting CVD events was assessed using the concordance index. Results: Among the1867 RA patients included, 74% were female, median (inter-quartile range) age and disease duration were 52.0 (44.0, 59.9) and 0.6 (0.1, 6.4) years, 72.5% were rheumatoid factor positive, 24.7% were using glucocorticoids and 10.3% were using biologics at baseline. Overall, 144 CVD events occurred and median follow-up time was 5.0 (2.6, 9.3) years. Median difference between estimated risk age and chronologic age was 4.0 to 6.7 years, depending on the specific risk age model applied. Overall, the C-index across risk models ranged from 0.71 to 0.73 with standard errors of 0.03. Across prediction models, the lowest observed concordance was found among women and in glucocorticoid users and in those with new-onset disease (≤1 year). Additional analyses including RA patients on cardio preventive therapy yielded slightly lower c-indexes. Since SCORE was developed for use in Europe, we performed analyses on European RA patients, which yielded similar results. The trend of reduced concordance among women, glucocorticoid users and RA patients with short disease duration was preserved in these additional analyses. Conclusion: The cardiovascular risk age and vascular age models have comparable performance in predicting CVD in RA patients. Sex, disease duration and/or glucocorticoid treatment may influence the performance of risk age estimations.
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