Cardiovascular risk factors among Jordanian patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A cohort study

To determine the frequency of risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Jordan.

During this study, 158 patients with RA were enlisted from the outpatient rheumatology clinic at King Hussein Hospital of the Jordanian Medical Services, from 1 June 2021, to 31 December 2021. Demographic data and disease duration were recorded. After 14 h of fasting, venous blood samples were drawn to determine the levels of cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein. History of smoking, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension was recorded. Body mass index and Framingham's 10-year risk score (FRS) were calculated for each patient. Disease duration was noted.

The mean age of the male population was 49.29 years and that of the female population was 46.06 years. Most of the study population were female (78.5%) and 27.2% of the study population had one modifiable risk factor. The most frequent risk factors observed in the study were obesity (38%) and dyslipidemia (38%). Diabetes mellitus was the least frequent risk factor, with a frequency of 14.6%. The FRS differed significantly between the sexes, with the risk score of men being 9.80, whereas that of women was 5.34 (p < .00). Regression analysis revealed that age increased the odds ratio of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, and a high-to-moderate FRS by 0.7%, 10.9%, 0.33%, and 10.3%, respectively.

Rheumatoid arthritis patients have increased chances of developing cardiovascular risk factors leading to cardiovascular events.