title: Cardiovascular risk factors in inflammatory arthritis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess factors that promote atherogenesis and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Also, to determine how control of inflammation with conventional and biological antirheumatic drugs affects cardiovascular risk.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An excess risk of CVD occurs early in the RA disease course and indeed may predate disease onset. Inflammation is a key driver of CVD risk as it adversely affects body composition, glucose handling and lipid function, especially the atheroprotective role of high-density lipoprotein. Therapies for RA, especially hydroxychloroquine and methotrexate (MTX) have positive effects on cardiovascular risk factors such as glycaemic control and reverse cholesterol transport. MTX and antitumour necrosis factor-alpha drugs also appear to have beneficial effect on CVD event risk, although the data on MTX appears more consistently to favour such a benefit.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Future work needs to understand which aspects of the inflammatory state contribute most to CVD risk and whether specific anti-inflammatory agents, either alone or in combination, afford maximal CVD protection in RA.
authors.affiliation: Arthritis Research UK Epidemiology Unit, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, The University of Manchester.
authors.forename: Hoda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mirjafari
authors.forename: Awal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Husain
authors.forename: Ian N
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Bruce
mesh_terms: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D006886:Hydroxychloroquine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D006886:Hydroxychloroquine; D008727:Methotrexate