Metabolic syndrome in patients with rheumatoid arthritis followed at a University Hospital in Northeastern Brazil.
BACKGROUND
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are 30-60% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease (CV) than the general population. Metabolic syndrome (MS), defined by a number of cardiovascular risk factors, confers a greater risk of CVdisease and diabetes. The association of MS with RA is not yet fully understood and its prevalence varies from 19 to 63% across studies.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the prevalence of MS in a population of RA patients followed in a hospital in Northeastern Brazil and analyze associations of demographic and clinical factors with MS.


METHODS
Outpatients with RA were evaluated in a cross-sectional study regarding demographic, clinical, laboratory and anthropometric data. The criteria for defining MS were those adopted by NCEPIII (2005) and IDF (2006).


RESULTS
110 patients with RA were studied; 97.3% were female, with a mean age of 55.5 years (SD=12.9) and duration of illness of 11.2 years (SD=7.3). The MS prevalence from NCEPIII (2005) and IDF (2005) were, respectively, 50% and 53.4%. Advanced age (57.9±11.9 versus 52.9±13.5; p=0.04) and smoking load >20 packs/year (29% versus 9%, p=0.008) were associated with MS. The major components of the metabolic syndrome were abdominal obesity (98.1%), hypertension (80%) and low HDL cholesterol (72.2%).


CONCLUSIONS
RA patients in a tertiary center in Northeastern Brazil showed high prevalence of MS. It is worth noting that almost all patients had MS and abdominal obesity, which has important practical implications. In addition to the components of MS, age and smoking were associated with this syndrome.
Hospital Universitário Walter Cantídio (HUWC), Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
Brenda Maria Gurgel Barreto
BM
de Oliveira
Medicine School, Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, CE, Brazil. Electronic address: mmcmedeiros@hotmail.com.
Marta Maria das Chagas
MM
Medeiros
Medical Course, Universidade de Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
João Victor Medeiros
JV
de Cerqueira
Hospital Universitário Walter Cantídio (HUWC), Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
Raquel Telles
RT
de Souza Quixadá
Hospital Universitário Walter Cantídio (HUWC), Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
Ídila Mont'Alverne Xavier
ÍM
de Oliveira
D000367:Age Factors; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000453:epidemiology; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology
Artrite reumatoide; Cardiovascular diseases; Doenças cardiovasculares; Metabolic syndrome; Rheumatoid arthritis; Síndrome metabólica