title: Increased carotid intima-media thickness in rheumatoid arthritis: an update meta-analysis.
abstract: This study aims to derive a more precise estimation on carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) level in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and related factors. Studies published from January 1, 1982 to December 31, 2014 in English, which comparing CIMT between RA group and control group were searched in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases. Heterogeneity test was performed, and publication bias was evaluated. Stata software 12.0 was used to perform the meta-analysis. Two-thousand one hundred sixty-three articles were obtained after searching databases, and 47 studies were finally included in the meta-analysis. The result of the analysis in random effect model showed that RA group had significantly higher CIMT than control group, with the standardized mean difference (SMD) of 1.04 and 95% CI (0.81,1.27). To evaluate the stability of our results, sensitivity analyses were performed, and the results showed no significant change when any one study was excluded. Subgroup analyses showed that region, race, age, BMI, and disease duration were associated with CIMT in RA patients. In summary, CIMT in RA patients is thicker than healthy controls, and it is influenced by region, race, age, BMI, and disease duration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, People's Republic of China.|Anhui provincial laboratory of population health and major disease screening and diagnosis, Anhui, 230032, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, People's Republic of China.|Anhui provincial laboratory of population health and major disease screening and diagnosis, Anhui, 230032, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shi-Yang
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, People's Republic of China.|Anhui provincial laboratory of population health and major disease screening and diagnosis, Anhui, 230032, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shu-Zhen
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, People's Republic of China.|Anhui provincial laboratory of population health and major disease screening and diagnosis, Anhui, 230032, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hong-Miao
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, People's Republic of China.|Anhui provincial laboratory of population health and major disease screening and diagnosis, Anhui, 230032, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Rui-Xue
authors.initials: RX
authors.lastname: Leng
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Xiang-Pei
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, People's Republic of China. panhaifeng1982@sina.com.|Anhui provincial laboratory of population health and major disease screening and diagnosis, Anhui, 230032, People's Republic of China. panhaifeng1982@sina.com.
authors.forename: Hai-Feng
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D006801:Humans; D064887:Observational Studies as Topic
keywords: Carotid intima-media thickness; Meta-analysis; Rheumatoid arthritis