Key clinical point: Genetic liability to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was positively associated with the risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) and intracerebral hemorrhage (IA), with the high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) appearing to mediate the association with CAD.
Major finding: Each unit increase in log odds of RA increased the risk for CAD (combined odds ratio [cOR] 1.02; P = .003) and IA (cOR 1.05; P = .001), with the levels of genetically predicted CRP influencing the risk association between RA and CAD (adjusted cOR 1.01; P = .268).
Study details: This was a two-sample Mendelian randomization study that selected 70 single nucleotide polymorphisms strongly associated with RA from a genome-wide association meta-analysis including 14,361 patients with RA and 43,923 control individuals.
Disclosures: The study was supported by research grants from Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, the Swedish Research Council for Health, and others. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Yuan S et al. Genetic liability to rheumatoid arthritis in relation to coronary artery disease and stroke risk. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2022 (May 18). Doi: 10.1002/art.42239