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Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Background/aim: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease associated with both joint pathology and elevated cardiovascular disease risk. Epicardial adipose tissue thickness (EATT) and aortic elasticity parameters are emerging cardiometabolic markers associated with systemic inflammation and subclinical atherosclerosis. Although the relationship between EATT, aortic elasticity parameters, and RA has been increasingly documented, differences in these parameters between seronegative rheumatoid arthritis and seropositive rheumatoid arthritis remain underexplored.

Materials and methods: Of the 396 consecutive patients with RA, only those free of established cardiovascular disease and uncontrolled cardiovascular risk factors were included. As a result, 80 patients with RA and 43 healthy controls were included in this study. Aortic elasticity parameters and EATT were measured using M-mode and two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography. Based on rheumatoid factor and anticitrullinated protein antibody status, patients were classified into seronegative and seropositive subgroups.

Results: The mean age of the patients was 53.8 ± 10.5 years. Aortic strain and aortic distensibility were significantly lower, whereas EATT was significantly higher, in patients with RA than in healthy controls. In subgroup analysis, seronegative RA patients had lower aortic strain and aortic distensibility and higher EATT than seropositive RA patients. Moreover, EATT was not significantly correlated with either aortic strain or aortic distensibility in patients with seronegative RA (r = 0.038, p = 0.817; r = 0.187, p = 0.247) or seropositive RA (r = 0.053, p = 0.747; r = 0.073, p = 0.659).

Conclusion: Seronegative RA patients exhibited greater EATT and lower aortic strain and aortic distensibility, suggesting increased aortic stiffness and a more adverse subclinical cardiometabolic phenotype.

Author ORCID Identifier

ABDULLAH ASLAN: 0000-0001-9392-3311

YUNUS EMRE ÖZBEBEK: 0000-0002-4556-9693

DOI

10.55730/1300-0144.6389

Keywords

aortic stiffness, Epicardial adipose tissue, rheumatoid arthritis, seronegative rheumatoid arthritis, seropositive rheumatoid arthritis

First Page

1442

Last Page

1450

Publisher

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK)

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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