Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Feb;66(2):184-8.
doi: 10.1136/ard.2006.051672. Epub 2006 Jun 7.

Lipids and inflammation: serial measurements of the lipid profile of blood donors who later developed rheumatoid arthritis

V P van Halm  1 , M M J Nielen, M T Nurmohamed, D van Schaardenburg, H W Reesink, A E Voskuyl, J W R Twisk, R J van de Stadt, M H M T de Koning, M R Habibuw, I E van der Horst-Bruinsma, B A C Dijkmans
Affiliations

Lipids and inflammation: serial measurements of the lipid profile of blood donors who later developed rheumatoid arthritis

V P van Halm et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2007 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is characterised by inflammation and an increased cardiovascular risk. It was recently shown that active early rheumatoid arthritis is associated with dyslipidaemia, which may partially explain the enhanced cardiovascular risk. However, it is unknown when this dyslipidaemia starts.

Objective: To investigate the progression of the lipid profile over time and the influence of inflammatory parameters on this lipid profile, in people who later developed rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods: Levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), triglycerides, apolipoprotein AI (apo AI), apolipoprotein B (apo B) and lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) were determined in 1078 stored, deep-frozen, serial blood bank samples, collected between 1984 and 1999, of 79 blood donors who later developed rheumatoid arthritis. These samples were compared with 1071 control samples of unselected blood donors, matched for age, sex and storage time.

Results: Samples of patients who later developed rheumatoid arthritis showed, on average, 4% higher total cholesterol, 9% lower HDLc, 17% higher triglyceride and 6% higher apo B levels than matched controls (p< or =0.05). The magnitude of the differences in lipid levels between groups, explained by C reactive protein (CRP), was limited. For example, only 3.6% of the difference in HDLc levels between the groups was explained by the CRP concentrations.

Conclusion: Patients who later develop rheumatoid arthritis have a considerably more atherogenic lipid profile than matched blood donors at least 10 years before onset of symptoms. As inflammation only marginally explains the differences between the two groups, a modulating effect of lipids on inflammatory processes is hypothesised.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None.

References

    1. Lindqvist E, Eberhardt K. Mortality in rheumatoid arthritis patients with disease onset in the 1980s. Ann Rheum Dis 19995811–14. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Solomon D H, Karlson E W, Rimm E B, Cannuscio C C, Mandl L A, Manson J E.et al Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in women diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Circulation 20031071303–1307. - PubMed
    1. Wallberg‐Jonsson S, Johansson H, Ohman M L, Rantapaa‐Dahlqvist S. Extent of inflammation predicts cardiovascular disease and overall mortality in seropositive rheumatoid arthritis. A retrospective cohort study from disease onset. J Rheumatol 1999262562–2571. - PubMed
    1. Wolfe F, Mitchell D M, Sibley J T, Fries J F, Bloch D A, Williams C A.et al The mortality of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum 199437481–494. - PubMed
    1. del Rincon I D, Williams K, Stern M P, Freeman G L, Escalante A. High incidence of cardiovascular events in a rheumatoid arthritis cohort not explained by traditional cardiac risk factors. Arthritis Rheum 2001442737–2745. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms