First Department of Propaedeutic and Internal Medicine, Medical School, University of Athens, 'Laikon' Hospital, Ag. Thoma, 17, 11527 Athens, Greece.
Ann Rheum Dis. 2012 Sep;71(9):1534-6. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2011-201278. Epub 2012 Jul 4.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with increased coronary artery disease (CAD) and subclinical carotid atheromatosis, reportedly to equal diabetes mellitus (DM). The presence of atheromatic plaques in femoral arteries of RA patients without DM was compared with with DM patients.
Femoral plaques were recorded in 30 (17 men, age 43.0±12 years, disease duration 9.9±7.1 years) and 60 older RA patients (27 men, age 63.0±7.1 years, disease duration 11.4±7.9 years) matched 1:1 for age, gender and disease duration with DM types 1 and 2 patients, respectively. All were asymptomatic and free of CAD.
The number of femoral plaques per patient in either RA subgroup was comparable with DM (0.64±0.82 vs 0.77±0.89 in total respective populations, p=0.340); percentages of patients with femoral plaques were also comparable (RA vs DM type 1 20% and 13%, respectively; RA vs DM type 2 58% and 66%, respectively). Hypertension and dyslipidaemia were significantly more frequent in both DM groups than RA groups.
Subclinical femoral atheromatosis in RA is analogous to DM, further confirming the territorial unrestricted acceleration of the atheromatic process in these patients. Cardiovascular risk stratification based on both carotid and femoral plaque detection in RA should be addressed prospectively.
类风湿关节炎（RA）与冠状动脉疾病（CAD）和亚临床颈动脉粥样硬化有关，据报道与糖尿病（DM）相当。比较了无 DM 的 RA 患者和有 DM 的 RA 患者股动脉粥样斑块的存在情况。
记录了 30 名（17 名男性，年龄 43.0±12 岁，病程 9.9±7.1 年）和 60 名年龄匹配（1:1）的老年 RA 患者（27 名男性，年龄 63.0±7.1 岁，病程 11.4±7.9 年），以及 1 型和 2 型 DM 患者的年龄、性别和病程，分别。所有患者均无症状且无 CAD。
无论是 RA 亚组还是 DM 患者，每位患者的股动脉斑块数均相当（总人群分别为 0.64±0.82 和 0.77±0.89，p=0.340）；股动脉斑块患者的百分比也相当（RA 与 1 型 DM 分别为 20%和 13%；RA 与 2 型 DM 分别为 58%和 66%）。高血压和血脂异常在两组 DM 中均比 RA 组更常见。
RA 亚临床股动脉粥样硬化与 DM 相似，进一步证实了这些患者的动脉粥样硬化过程无地域限制的加速。应前瞻性地对 RA 患者进行基于颈动脉和股动脉斑块检测的心血管风险分层。
