Endothelin-1 serum levels in women with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate serum Endothelin-1(ET-1) levels in women Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients compared with healthy controls, examine possible associations between ET-1 with different characteristic of the disease and investigate possible associations between ET-1 with surrogate markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in Vega-Baja Hospital, Orihuela (Spain) from November 2016 to May 2018. Sixty-three women with RA and sixty-five age and sex healthy controls were included in this study. Serum ET-1 was analyzed using ELISA.

Results: Serum levels of ET-1 in RA women patients were higher than those in healthy controls (p ˂0.001). Serum levels of ET-1 were positively associated with N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) (r = 0.27, p < 0.05) and with C-reactive protein (CRP) (r = 0.36, p < 0.05). ET-1 levels in women with RA were higher in smokers. Prednisone use was associated with lower ET-1 levels. No association with carotid intima media thickness was found.

Conclusions: we observed the presence of higher levels of serum ET-1 in RA women patients compared with healthy controls. These increased levels of ET-1 are associated with inflammation and smoking and reduced by prednisone intake.