Cardiovascular disease risk calculators to reflect the subclinical atherosclerosis of coronary artery in rheumatoid arthritis: a pilot study

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Coronary artery calcium (CAC) score quantifies the severity of atherosclerosis. We estimated CVD risk using several methods and compared these with the CAC score to identify the most suitable CVD risk calculator in RA patients. METHODS: We recruited RA patients, and the 10-year CVD risk was assessed using various tools, viz. Framingham risk score, Systemic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE), Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) risk estimator plus, QRISK3, Expanded Risk Score in Rheumatoid Arthritis (ERS-RA), and Reynolds risk score. Computed tomography was used to determine the CAC score of each patient. Correlation analysis and linear regression analysis between the CAC score and CVD risk score was performed. RESULTS: In total, 54 RA patients were enrolled. ERS-RA showed the highest correlation coefficient (r = 0.430, P = 0.001). In multivariate linear regression analysis, ERS-RA (β = 10.01, 95% confidence interval 3.78–16.23) showed a positive association with the CAC score in RA patients. CONCLUSIONS: The ERS-RA method was highly correlated with the CAC score in RA patients. Therefore, the application of the ERS-RA method may be suitable for predicting subclinical atherosclerosis and CVD risk in RA patients. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41927-021-00213-3.