Serum Levels of Anticyclic Citrullinated Peptide Antibodies, Interleukin-6, Tumor Necrosis Factor-α, and C-Reactive Protein Are Associated with Increased Carotid Intima-Media Thickness: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of a Cohort of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients without Cardiovascular Risk Factors

• Main Authors: Mónica Vázquez-Del Mercado, Lourdes Nuñez-Atahualpa, Mauricio Figueroa-Sánchez, Eduardo Gómez-Bañuelos, Alberto Daniel Rocha-Muñoz, Beatriz Teresita Martín-Márquez, Esther Guadalupe Corona-Sanchez, Erika Aurora Martínez-García, Héctor Macias-Reyes, Laura Gonzalez-Lopez, Jorge Ivan Gamez-Nava, Rosa Elena Navarro-Hernandez, María Alejandra Nuñez-Atahualpa, Javier Andrade-Garduño
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2015-01-01
• Series: BioMed Research International
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/342649

The main cause of death in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is cardiovascular events. We evaluated the relationship of anticyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibody levels with increased carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in RA patients. Methods. Forty-five anti-CCP positive and 37 anti-CCP negative RA patients, and 62 healthy controls (HC) were studied. All groups were assessed for atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) and cIMT. Anti-CCP, C-reactive protein (CRP), and levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results. The anti-CCP positive RA patients showed increased cIMT compared to HC and anti-CCP negative (P<0.001). Anti-CCP positive versus anti-CCP negative RA patients, had increased AIP, TNFα and IL-6 (P<0.01), and lower levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) (P=0.02). The cIMT correlated with levels of anti-CCP (r=0.513, P=0.001), CRP (r=0.799, P<0.001), TNFα (r=0.642, P=0.001), and IL-6 (r=0.751, P<0.001). In multiple regression analysis, cIMT was associated with CRP (P<0.001) and anti-CCP levels (P=0.03). Conclusions. Levels of anti-CCP and CRP are associated with increased cIMT and cardiovascular risk supporting a clinical role of the measurement of cIMT in RA in predicting and preventing cardiovascular events.