Variation of homocysteine levels in rheumatoid arthritis patients: relationship to inflammation, cardiovascular risk factors, and methotrexate.

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the variation of homocysteine (Hcy) levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to analyze the relationship to inflammatory parameters, cardiovascular risk, and methotrexate (MTX). Methods This cross-sectional study assessed disease activity and treatment in RA patients. The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) 2015 HeartSCORE was performed for cardiovascular (CV) risk estimation and levels of plasma Hcy, serum folate concentrations, vitamin B12, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were measured. Results A total of 103 participants with mean age 53 ± 10 years and mean disease duration 10.55 ± 7.34 years were included. Patients were treated with MTX in 69.9% of cases and corticosteroid in 80.5% of cases. Of all patients, 13% had a cardiovascular inheritance, 25% were hypertensive, and 18% had diabetes. The EULAR 2015 HeartSCORE was high and very high (≥5%) in 35% of cases. Mean Hcy level was 12.54 ± 4.2 µmol/L [6.89-32.92] and hyperhomocysteinemia was noted in 20.4% of patients. Analytic study demonstrated that hyperhomocysteinemia was associated with male gender (p = 0.01), MTX use (p = 0.01), smoking (p = 0.008), renal failure (p = 0.04), and high disease activity (p = 0.05), but there was no association with the HeartSCORE (p = 0.23). Hcy level was negatively correlated with folate (p = 0.009) and vitamin B12 level (p = 0.02) and positively with age (p = 0.01), C‑reactive protein (CRP; p = 0.05), and Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI; p = 0.03). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, current MTX use, levels of vitamin B12 and creatine, and Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) appeared to be independent factors associated with hyperhomocysteinemia. Conclusion MTX use, CDAI, and the levels of vitamin B12 and creatine are independent factors associated with hyperhomocysteinemia.