Key clinical point: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who had symptoms of clinically active RA and cardiovascular disease were at an increased risk for dementia.
Major finding: Apart from the universally recognized risk factors for dementia, such as older age at RA incidence, hypertension, depression, and anxiety, RA disease characteristics, such as the presence of rheumatoid nodules (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.76; 95% CI 1.05-2.95), large joint swellings (aHR 2.11; 95% CI 1.33-3.34), and any cardiovascular disease at anytime after RA incidence (aHR 2.25; 95% CI 1.38-3.66) were significantly associated with an increased risk for dementia.
Study details: This was a retrospective cohort study including 886 patients with incident RA and without prior dementia, of which 103 patients developed dementia during a median follow-up of 8.5 years.
Disclosures: This study was supported by the US National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Aging, and National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. M Vassilaki reported receiving research funding and owning equity in various companies. MM Mielke reported receiving research grants or funding from and serving as a consultant for various sources.
Source: Kodishala C et al. Risk factors for dementia in patients with incident rheumatoid arthritis: A population-based cohort study. J Rheumatol. 2022 (Jul 15). Doi: 10.3899/jrheum.220200