Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 26, 2026
Chronic Salmonella Infection Induced Intestinal Fibrosis
Published on: September 22, 2019
Cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors in inherited autoinflammation
Gilad Twig1, Avi Livneh, Asaf Vivante
1Departments of Medicine B (G.T., D.B.-A.S., H.A.), Department of Medicine F (A.L., I.B.-Z.), and Pediatrics (A.V.), and Heller Institute of Medical Research (A.L., I.B.-Z.), The Pinchas Borenstein Talpiot Medical Leadership Program 2012 (G.T., A.V., I.B.-Z., Y.A.), Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer 52621, Israel; The Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps (G.T., A.V., E.D., A.L., D.T., A.F.), Israel; The Sackler School of Medicine (A.L., A.V., A.A., E.D., C.M., I.B.-Z., Y.A., H.A.), Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel; The Israeli Ministry of Health (A.A.), Israel; Department of Medicine I (A.F.), Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel; and Department of Cardiology (M.I.), Maria Vittoria Hospital, 10126 Torino, Italy.
Context:
The natural progression of metabolic abnormalities among patients with inherited autoinflammation is unclear.
Objective:
The objective of the study was to assess the cardiometabolic risk of participants with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF).
Design And Setting:
This study included nationwide cross-sectional and longitudinal cohorts.
Participants:
The prevalence of components of the metabolic syndrome at age 17 years was assessed from the medical database of the Israeli Defense Force from 1973 through 1997. Included were 745 males with FMF, 902 healthy male siblings, and a control group of 787,714 participants. A prospective follow-up study traced the incidence of components of the metabolic syndrome to age 45 years among 57 FMF and 1568 control army personnel participants.
Interventions:
Body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP) were measured at age 17 years (cross-sectional); lifestyle, anthropometric, and biochemical data were periodically recorded from age 25 years.
Main Outcome Measures:
Abnormal BMI or BP (age 17 y) and Adult Treatment Panel III criteria of the metabolic syndrome were measured.
Results:
In multivariable regression analysis adjusted for known confounders of obesity, FMF participants had an odds ratio of 0.65 for the occurrence of overweight [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.44-0.96, P = .03] and 0.66 (95% CI 0.48-0.92, P = .012) for hypertension-range BP; their siblings tended to obesity (odds ratio 1.48; 95% CI 1.04-2.11, P = .008). In the follow-up arm, a multivariable analysis adjusted for age, birth year, BMI, education, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and physical activity yielded hazard ratios of 0.32 (95% CI 0.10-0.82, P = .002) for incident obesity, 0.49 (95% CI 0.25-0.95, P = .037) for incident triglycerides 150 mg/dL or greater, 0.56 (95% CI 0.31-0.98, P = .048) for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol 130 mg/dL or greater, and 2.14 (1.368-3.359, P = .001) for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol less than 40 mg/dL for FMF participants compared with controls. Incident elevated BP was lower among FMF participants (hazard ratio 0.49; 95% CI 0.23-1.00, P = .05), whereas dysglycemia incidence was comparable.
Conclusions:
FMF is associated with lower rates of most components of the metabolic syndrome compared with normal subjects, unlike other inflammatory conditions.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Autoimmune Disorders
Concept and Mechanism of Autoimmune Diseases
The immune...
01:30Coronary Artery Disease I: Introduction
01:25Inflammatory Bowel Disease III: Crohn's Disease
01:23Rheumatic Heart Disease I: Introduction
01:30Inflammatory Bowel Disease II: Crohn's Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease, commonly known as IBD, refers to a collection of disorders that lead to persistent inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The two types of IBD are ulcerative colitis, which impacts the colon, and Crohn's disease, which can involve any part of the gastrointestinal segment.
Crohn's disease
Crohn's disease is a chronic, systemic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that predominantly affects the gastrointestinal tract. It is marked by...
01:27Inflammatory Bowel Disease I: Ulcerative Colitis
Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, encompasses a group of disorders characterized by chronic inflammation or ulceration of the gastrointestinal tract.
Risk Factors
The exact cause of IBD remains unclear, although it is believed to be due to a mix of genetic, environmental, microbial, and immune factors. Genetic factors are significant in determining susceptibility to IBD, with family history being a critical risk factor. Individuals with a first-degree relative who has IBD are at...