People with rheumatoid arthritis have three times a higher risk of suffering potentially fatal leg and lung blood clots, research suggests.
It is already known that the condition can cause complications, including swelling of the lungs, heart and blood vessels, and carpal tunnel syndrome, where pressure and pain is felt in the wrist.
Now experts writing online in the Annals Of The Rheumatic Diseases have found that people with the disease have a three times higher risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the legs than those without. Sufferers also have a two-fold increased risk of pulmonary embolism (a blocked main artery) in the lungs.
The team, from the China Medical University in Taiwan, studied almost 30,000 patients in Taiwan with the condition, who were typically aged 52 at diagnosis. The group were compared with 117,000 without the condition.
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis were more likely to have other underlying conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart failure and fractures. But even after taking such factors into account, those with rheumatoid arthritis were still significantly more likely to develop blood clots.
Experts said it seemed likely that the inflammation in the body associated with rheumatoid arthritis caused the increased risk of thrombosis. Overall, the chance of developing a clot rose from 0.32 per cent to 1.07 per cent, in any year.
Studies have found that rheumatoid arthritis is more common in western countries than in Taiwan, and researchers said it is possible that the increased risk of DVT linked with it could also be associated with racial differences.
Professor Alan Silman, medical director of Arthritis Research UK, said: “Thrombosis in the legs, leading to blood clot in the lungs is a serious and not infrequently fatal disorder.”
“This study is the first we are aware of suggesting that rheumatoid arthritis, which is a disorder which is associated with widespread inflammation, can be a specific risk factor.
He said patients with the disease often required joint replacement surgery, which itself increased the risks of clots post-surgery.
“This research emphasises the importance of adequate treatment of joint inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and the need for particular vigilance around surgery,” he said.
The likelihood of developing rheumatoid arthritis increases with age. However, the study showed that patients suffering from the disease below the age 50 were far more likely to develop a DVT or an embolism than those aged between 50 and 65.
Younger patients were almost six times as likely to develop a DVT and more than three times as likely to develop an embolism than older patients.
Article taken in part from www.telegraph.co.uk
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