THURSDAY, Aug. 27, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- The nonlinear relationships for low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) seen in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients do not differ from those in non-RA controls, according to a study published in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatology.
Katherine P. Liao, M.D., M.P.H., from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues used data from a U.S. health insurance plan for 16,085 patients with RA and 48,499 non-RA controls matched for age, sex, and index date.
The researchers identified a nonlinear relationship between LDL cholesterol levels and MACE incidence; the relationship was similar for RA patients and controls (P for interaction = 0.72). There was no significant increase in cardiovascular risk for the lowest versus the second, third, or fourth quintiles of LDL cholesterol levels; increased risk was seen for the highest quintile (hazard ratio, 1.40). A nonlinear relationship was also seen for HDL cholesterol levels and MACE incidence; the relationship was similar for RA patients and controls (P for interaction = 0.39). Each successive quintile correlated with reduced risk of MACE compared to the lowest quintile of HDL cholesterol levels (hazard ratio, 0.45 for lowest versus highest quintile).
"The complex relationship between LDL cholesterol levels, HDL cholesterol levels, and risk of MACE was nonlinear in RA patients and also not statistically significantly different from that in an age- and sex-matched non-RA cohort," the authors write.
Two authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies.
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
