A preliminary study of excess risk of cardiovascular disease in the mothers of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Family histories were obtained from 123 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 152 patients with other musculoskeletal complaints. The subjects were female patients aged 40 years or more seen at the Arthritis Clinic of the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn between October 1985 and February 1986. It was found that death due to heart disease or stroke was more common (adjusted p less than 0.02) in the mothers of patients with rheumatoid arthritis than in the mothers of control patients, and that heart disease was also reported to be more common in these mothers (adjusted p less than 0.005). Thus, it is possible that cardiovascular disease at least partially accounts for the previously noted (J Rheumatol 1986; 13:903-6) shorter life expectancy of the mothers of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Kaplan
D
D
Department of Medicine, State University of New York, Brooklyn 11203.
Feldman
J
J
D000328:Adult; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor / Q000235:genetics; D012307:Risk Factors
D012217:Rheumatoid Factor