Increased incidence of, and impaired prognosis after, stroke among patients with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis

CER18
2009 Vol.27, N°4
PI 0641, PF 0644
Brief Papers

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PMID: 19772797 [PubMed]

Received: 06/11/2008
Accepted : 03/03/2009
In Press: 10/11/2009
Published: 10/11/2009

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:
To examine the incidence of, and outcome after, a stroke in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with the general population.
METHODS:
The northern Sweden MONICA register was used to compare the incidence of stroke in a cohort of RA patients with the general population. Forty RA patients who had also suffered a stroke were identified. For each patient with RA, three controls with a history of stroke but without RA were randomly collected from the same register, and matched for age and sex.
RESULTS:
The standardised incidence ratio (SIR) for stroke was 2.7 in RA patients compared with the general population (p<0.05). During the follow-up, RA patients had a higher overall case fatality (CF) following stroke compared with controls (hazard ratio (HR) =1.70, p<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS:
Both the incidence of a stroke, and the subsequent CF, were higher among RA patients compared with the general population. The results emphasize the necessity of optimising the prevention of stroke and follow-up care after a stroke in RA.