Serum Levels of Anticyclic Citrullinated Peptide Antibodies, Interleukin-6, Tumor Necrosis Factor-α, and C-Reactive Protein Are Associated with Increased Carotid Intima-Media Thickness: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of a Cohort of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients without Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Table 2

Characteristics and comparison of RA subgroups according to anti-CCP antibodies.

Variable	RA patients
	Anti-CCP (−)	Anti-CCP (+)
Age, years ± SD			0.36
Disease duration, years ± SD			0.75
DAS28, units ± SD			0.05
Remission (<2.6)	19 (51.35)	16 (33.3)	0.06
Hands’ Steinbrocker stage, III or IV, (%)	0	7 (15.6)	0.01
Lipid profile
TC, mg/dL			0.02
Tg, mg/dL			0.05
HDL-c, mg/dL			0.02
LDL-c, mg/dL			0.63
VLDL-c, mg/dL			0.66
AIP: TC/HDL-c			0.002
Low risk, (%)	29 (78.4)	20 (44.5)
Moderate risk, (%)	7 (18.9)	15 (33.3)	0.006
High risk, (%)	1 (2.7)	10 (22.2)
Serologic profile
ESR, mm/h			0.07
RF, IU/mL			0.73
CRP, mg/L			<0.001
TNFα, pg/mL			0.003
IL-6, pg/mL			<0.001
DMARDs
Methotrexate, (%)	31 (83.8)	45 (100)	0.04
Chloroquine, (%)	22 (59.46)	32 (71.1)	0.22
Sulfasalazine, (%)	9 (24.3)	9 (20.0)	0.79
Azathioprine, (%)	6 (16.2)	8 (17.8)	1.00
Corticosteroids, (%)	3 (8.1)	2 (4.4)	0.65

Anti-CCP, anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; DAS28, disease activity score; TC, total cholesterol; Tg, triglycerides; HDL-c, high density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-c, low density lipoprotein cholesterol; VLDL-c, very low density lipoprotein cholesterol; AIP, atherogenic index of plasma; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; RF, rheumatoid factor; CRP, C-reactive protein; TNFα, tumor necrosis factor alpha; IL-6, interleukin-6; DMARDs, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.
Qualitative variables are expressed as frequencies (%); quantitative variables are expressed as means ± standard deviations (SD). Comparisons between proportions were computed using Chi-square or Fisher exact test. Comparisons between means were computed with unpaired Student’s -test.