Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide and rheumatoid factor (prevalence and association)‎ in Saudi rheumatoid arthritis patients

Abstract EN

To assess the prevalence and association of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides and rheumatoid factor in Saudi rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Over three years (February 2011 - February 2014).

Demographic and clinical features, drugs, rheumatoid factor-positivity, and anticyclic citrullinated peptides-positivity were recorded for 205 Saudi rheumatoid arthritis patients (185 females; mean age was 45 years and mean disease duration was 5 years).

Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides and rheumatoid factor were assessed in serum.

Disease activity scores for 28 joints was used.

There were 36% rheumatoid factor+ve and 45% anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides+ve.

21.5% of the rheumatoid factor-ve subjects were anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides+ve.

13.3% of the rheumatoid factor positive patients were anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides-ve and 86.7% were anticyclic citrullinated peptides+ve.

Signifi cant association (P < 0.05) of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides-positivity and rheumatoid factorpositivity with each other, and with gender, use of disease–modifying antirheumatic drugs, hydroxychloroquine and methotrexate.

No direct impact of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides status on the disease activity scores for 28 joints or its constituents (P > 0.5); nevertheless, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides positive patients appear to represent a greater need for combination disease modifying drugs.

Although anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides and rheumatoid factor were closely related, their divergence was suffi cient to indicate that both should be measured in Saudi rheumatoid arthritis patients.