In statin-naïve patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), elevated TG level has been linked to increased risk of composite major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). In a nationwide population-based cohort study, carried out in Korea, researchers investigated the relationship between MACE and baseline total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C, HDL-C and TG in this group of patients.
During a median 4.7 years follow-up, the incidence of MACE was 7.27 per 1000 person-years. Among the four lipid components, only higher baseline TG levels were significantly associated with increased risk for composite MACE in patients with RA. The risk for composite MACE was significantly higher in the third quartile (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.35 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03-1.78]) and highest quartiles (adjusted HR, 1.74 [95%CI, 1.33-2.28]) of baseline TG versus the lowest quartile.
This compared with HRs of 1.12 (0.88–1.42) and 1.28 (0.99–1.64) for third and highest quartiles of baseline TC versus the lowest quartile, and HRs of 1.05 (0.82–1.33) and 1.24 (0.96–1.60) for respective quartiles of LDL-C, and 0.93 (0.73–1.18) and 0.85 (0.64–1.12) respectively for HDL-C.
The researchers suggested that screening and intervention for increased TG level may be clinically beneficial in this population of statin-naïve patients with RA.
Reference
Choi W, Kang JH, Park JY et al. Elevated triglyceride levels are associated with increased risk for major adverse cardiovascular events in statin-naïve rheumatoid arthritis patients: A nationwide cohort study. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2023 Oct 5;63:152274. Epub ahead of print
