RESEARCH - RA, periodontal disease and coronary artery disease

March 14, 2008

Clin Rheumatol. 2008 Apr;27(4):421-7. Epub 2007 Aug 29.

Rheumatoid arthritis, periodontal disease and coronary artery disease.

Abou-Raya S, Abou-Raya A, Naim A, Abuelkheir H.

Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of

andria, andria, Egypt.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), periodontal disease (PD), and coronary

artery disease (CAD) are common chronic inflammatory diseases. RA is

associated with accelerated vascular risk resulting in an increased

prevalence of CAD with attendant early mortality and excess morbidity.

RA and PD have a common pathobiology. Accordingly, the aim of this

study was to evaluate the association between RA, PD, and CAD and the

influence of systemic inflammatory factors. A total of 100 active RA

patients of which 50 had established CAD and 50 had no CAD were

assessed for PD. All subjects underwent a clinical, cardiac, dental,

laboratory, and radiological evaluation. Blood samples were obtained,

and the level of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), total

white blood counts (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR),

fibrinogen and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha, total cholesterol

(TC), and high density lipoprotein (HDL) were assayed. The findings of

this study demonstrated an association between RA, PD, and CAD. The RA

patients with CAD had significantly more PD than RA patients without

CAD. The inflammatory markers, hsCRP, ESR, WBC, fibrinogen, and

TNF-alpha, were raised in all patients but were significantly higher

in RA patients with CAD who also had PD. HDL levels were lower in RA

patients with CAD when compared to RA patients without CAD. Evidence

from this study shows an association between RA, PD, CAD, and systemic

levels of the inflammatory mediators. The implication is that

inflammation may be the central link between the chronic inflammatory,

autoimmune disorders, and atherosclerosis.

PMID: 17763921

--

Not an MD

Recommended Posts