Association of Antibodies to Citrullinated Protein Antigens with Blood Pressure in First-Degree Relatives of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: The Studies of the Etiology of Rheumatoid Arthritis

摘要

BackgroundHypertension is more common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) than in the general population. It is unknown whether hypertension is due to RA-related medications or the disease itself. Therefore, we sought to investigate associations between RA-related autoantibodies, specifically, antibodies to citrullinated protein antigens (ACPA) and systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure in first-degree relatives of RA patients, who were free of RA and RA-related medications. We hypothesized that greater number of detectable ACPA would be associated with high SBP and DBP, independent of other risk factors in these first-degree relatives.