Key clinical point: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with a significant increase in the risk for ischemic heart disease (IHD) and myocardial infarction (MI), and managing RA activity may reduce the risk for cardiovascular diseases.
Major finding: RA is significantly associated with an increased risk for IHD (odds ratio [OR] 1.0006; P = .001551915) and MI (OR 1.0458; P = .001636), but not arrhythmia and atrial fibrillation.
Study details: Findings are from a two-sample Mendelian randomization study including patients and matched control individuals for RA (n = 14,361 and n = 43,923, respectively), MI (n = 12,801 and n = 187,840, respectively), IHD (n = 5861 and n = 457,149, respectively), atrial fibrillation (n = 60,620 and n = 970,216, respectively), and arrhythmia (n = 2545 and n = 460,388, respectively).
Disclosures: This study was supported by the Young Talent Development Plan of Changzhou Health Commission, China, and other sources. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Wang M et al. Relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular comorbidity, causation or co-occurrence: A Mendelian randomization study. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2023;10:1099861 (Mar 17). Doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2023.1099861