title: Perceived and actual risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Korea: A cross-sectional study.
abstract: The purposes of this study were to compare the perceived and actual 10-year risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and to evaluate the influence of cardiovascular risk factors on perceived CVD risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Korea. Additionally, the attainment of CVD prevention guideline goals by 3 levels of CVD risk (low, moderate, and high) was presented.For this cross-sectional study, data were collected from 208 patients with RA. Actual CVD risk was estimated with the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE), and goal attainment was assessed based on the European League Against Rheumatism guidelines. Actual CVD risk and perceived risk were compared with cross-tabulation. Chi-square tests were used to evaluate differences in cardiovascular risk factors by perceived risk. Levels of goal attainment were presented in percentages.Among patients with RA, 13.9% were identified as being at high risk for CVD, whereas 39.9% were at moderate risk, and 46.2% were at low risk. The majority of those at high risk (96.6%) underestimated their risk for CVD. The use of antihypertensive or lipid-lowering medications and having a parental history of CVD significantly increased the likelihood that subjects with RA would perceive themselves as being at high risk for CVD. Diabetes, smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity did not affect perceived risk. A substantial proportion of the subjects with RA did not meet the prevention guideline goals.Patients with RA who are at increased risk of developing CVD must be managed as soon as possible to attain the guideline goals and, accordingly, lower their risk of future CVD.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Institute of Nursing Science, Ajou University, Suwon, Korea School of Nursing and Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA College of Nursing, Ajou University, Suwon, Korea Department of Rheumatology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
authors.forename: Sunjoo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boo
authors.forename: Erika S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Froelicher
authors.forename: Ju-Hui
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.forename: Ye-Won
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ju-Yang
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Chang-Hee
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Suh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index