Objective. To examine trends in the incidence and prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from 1995 to 2007.Methods. To augment our preexisting inception cohort of patients with RA (1955-1994), we assembled a population-based incidence cohort of individuals >18 years of age who first fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology 1987 criteria for the classification of RA between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 2007 and a cohort of patients with prevalent RA on January 1, 2005. Incidence and prevalence rates were estimated and were age-and sex-adjusted to the white population in the US in 2000. Trends in incidence rates were examined using Poisson regression methods.Results. The 1995-2007 incidence cohort comprised 466 patients (mean age 55.6 years), 69% of whom were female and 66% of whom were rheumatoid factor positive. The overall age-and sex-adjusted annual RA incidence was 40.9/100,000 population. The ageadjusted incidence in women was 53.1/100,000 population (versus 27.7/100,000 population in men). During the period of time from 1995 to 2007, the incidence of RA increased moderately in women (P ‫؍‬ 0.02) but not in men (P ‫؍‬ 0.74). The increase was similar among all age groups. The overall age-and sex-adjusted prevalence on

Objectives-To examine the impact of systemic inflammation and serum lipids on cardiovascular disease (CVD) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods-In a population-based RA incident cohort (1987 ACR criteria first met between 1988 and 2007), we collected serum lipid measures, erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) measures and cardiovascular events including ischemic heart disease, and heart failure. Cox models were used to examine the association of lipids and inflammation with the risk of CVD and mortality adjusting for age, sex and year of RA incidence.Results-The study included 651 RA patients (mean age 55.8 years, 69% female); 67% were rheumatoid factor positive. ESR was associated with the risk of CVD (hazard ratio [HR] 1.2 per 10 mm/hr increase, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1, 1.3). Similar findings, although not statistically significant, were seen with CRP (p=0.07). We found a significant nonlinear association for total cholesterol (TCh) on risk of CVD, with 3.3-fold increased risk for TCh<4 mmol/L (95%CI 1.5, 7.2) and no increased risk of CVD for TCh≥4 mmol/L (p=0.57). Low lowdensity cholesterol (LDL<2 mmol/L) was associated with marginally increased risk of CVD (p=0.10); there was no increased risk for LDL≥2 mmol/L (p=0.76).Conclusion-Inflammatory measures (particularly, ESR) are significantly associated with the risk of CVD in RA. Lipids may have paradoxical associations with the risk of CVD in RA, whereby lower TCh and LDL levels are associated with increased cardiovascular risk.

Objective. Understanding of the personal risks for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other rheumatic diseases remains poor, despite advances in knowledge with regard to their pathogenesis, therapeutics, and clinical impact, in part because the personal lifetime risk of developing these diseases is unknown. This study was undertaken to estimate the lifetime risk of RA, as well as other inflammatory autoimmune rheumatic diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriatic arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), giant cell arteritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and Sjögren's syndrome, and to provide an overall estimate of the risk of developing inflammatory autoimmune rheumatic disease over a lifetime.Methods. Using the incidence rates obtained from our population-based studies of rheumatic diseases among residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota, and mortality rates from life tables for the general population, we estimated the sex-specific lifetime risk of rheumatic disease.Results. The lifetime risk of RA developing in US adults was 3.6% for women and 1.7% for men, and the lifetime risk of rheumatoid factor-positive RA was 2.4% for women and 1.1% for men. The second most common inflammatory autoimmune rheumatic disease was PMR, with a lifetime risk of 2.4% for women and 1.7% for men. The overall lifetime risk of inflammatory autoimmune rheumatic disease was 8.4% for women and 5.1% for men.Conclusion. One in 12 women and 1 in 20 men will develop an inflammatory autoimmune rheumatic disease during their lifetime. These results can serve as useful guides in counseling patients regarding their lifetime risk of these conditions and have important implications regarding disease awareness campaigns.

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Objective To compare the prevalence of left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction in subjects with and without rheumatoid arthritis (RA), among those with no history of heart failure (HF), and to determine risk factors for diastolic dysfunction in RA. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional, community-based study comparing cohorts of adult RA and non-RA subjects without a history of HF. Standard 2D/Doppler echocardiography was performed in all participants. Diastolic dysfunction was defined as impaired relaxation (with or without increased filling pressures) or advanced reduction in compliance or reversible or fixed restrictive filling. Results The study included 244 RA subjects and 1448 non-RA subjects. Mean age was 60.5 years in the RA cohort (71% female) and 64.9 years (50% female) in the non-RA cohort. The vast majority (>98%) of both cohorts had preserved ejection fraction (EF≥50%). Diastolic dysfunction was more common in RA subjects at 31% compared to 26% (age and sex adjusted) in non-RA subjects (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.2, 2.4). RA subjects had significantly lower LV mass, higher pulmonary arterial pressure, and higher left atrial volume index than non-RA subjects. RA duration and IL-6 level were independently associated with diastolic dysfunction in RA even after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors. Conclusion Subjects with RA have a higher prevalence of diastolic dysfunction than those without RA. RA duration and IL-6 are independently associated with diastolic dysfunction suggesting the impact of chronic autoimmune inflammation on myocardial function in RA. Clinical implications of these findings require further investigation.