Although the association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is established, the exact mechanism is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that RA‐related autoantibodies are independent risk factors for subclinical atherosclerosis and subsequent clinical CVD events.
Conclusions
RA‐related autoantibodies are associated with subclinical and clinical atherosclerosis in African American women from a community‐based non‐RA cohort, indicating autoimmune factors may play a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.
Authors
Darcy S Majka, Marius Teodorescu, Rowland W Chang
