The Correlation Between Cardiovascular Risk And Functional Disability And Disease Activity In Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Aim: To determine the cardiovascular risk (CVR) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its correlation with disease activity and functional ability by using the Framingham risk score (FRS) and to compare the CVR of the RA patients with the control group with the help of the FRS.Materials and methods: Seventy-four RA patients, who were in conformity with the criteria of the American College of Rheumatology, were included in this study at Bezmialem Vakif University Hospital. A total of 39 subjects without inflammatory arthritis were included as the control group. The FRS was calculated by evaluating age, smoking habits, diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure measurements. The disease activity score-28 (DAS-28) and the health assessment questionnaire (HAQ-DI) were applied to the RA patients.Results: We could not find any significant difference between the case and control groups in terms of FRS. The means of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and blood pressure of participants in the study group were significantly higher than those of the control group. There was not any significant difference in terms of C-reactive protein (CRP) and cholesterol levels between the groups. DAS-28, HAQ-DI, CRP, ESR, and disease duration were not significantly correlated with FRS.Conclusion: For patients who have inflammatory arthritis, new risk score calculation that consists of other disease-specific risk factors, in addition to traditional ones, is needed.