Table 2 Carotid intima-media thickness and brain magnetic resonance imaging assessments
RA total (n = 41) | RA MTX (n = 12) | RA biologic (n = 29) | Control subjects (n = 60) | p Value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
RA total vs control subjects | RA MTX vs control subjects | RA biologic vs control subjects | RA MTX vs RA biologic | |||||
Carotid ultrasound studies | ||||||||
Right cIMT (mm) | 0.72 ± 0.24 | 0.72 ± 0.25 | 0.72 ± 0.23 | 0.40 ± 0.28 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | |
Left cIMT (mm) | 0.73 ± 0.23 | 0.69 ± 0.22 | 0.75 ± 0.24 | 0.40 ± 0.28 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | |
Right carotid plaques (%) | 21 (51%) | 8 (67%) | 13 (45%) | 16 (27%) | 0.021 | 0.016 | ||
Left carotid plaques (%) | 18 (44%) | 6 (50%) | 12 (41%) | 21 (35%) | ||||
Right carotid plaque score | 1.22 ± 1.35 | 1.58 ± 1.31 | 1.07 ± 1.36 | 0.60 ± 0.99 | 0.016 | 0.008 | ||
Left carotid plaque score | 1.00 ± 1.16 | 1.25 ± 1.55 | 0.90 ± 0.98 | 0.78 ± 1.12 | ||||
Brain MRI studies | ||||||||
Right vascular lesions (%) | 16 (39%) | 5 (42%) | 11 (38%) | |||||
Left vascular lesions (%) | 16 (39%) | 5 (42%) | 11 (38%) | |||||
Emollition | 2 (5%) | 0 | 2 (7%) | |||||
Atrophy | 8 (20%) | 1 (8%) | 7 (24%) | |||||