TY - JOUR T1 - Hypothyroidism in Rheumatoid Arthritis — To Screen or Not to Screen? JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 885 LP - 886 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.120015 VL - 39 IS - 5 AU - HENNIE G. RATERMAN AU - MICHAEL T. NURMOHAMED Y1 - 2012/05/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/39/5/885.abstract N2 - The manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) extend beyond the symmetrical inflammation of the joints, as shown by accumulating evidence of increased risk for comorbid conditions such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death in patients with RA1,2. Osteoporosis, another well established comorbidity in RA and low bone mineral density, has been suggested to be associated with cardiovascular mortality as well3,4. These studies demonstrate the importance of alertness for comorbid conditions in RA since it is well known that in patients with chronic diseases coexisting comorbidity is often overlooked5.Interestingly, in this issue of The Journal, McCoy and colleagues report about another comorbidity in patients with RA that seems to be an important amplifier of cardiovascular risk: hypothyroidism6.In the literature on associations between RA and hypothyroidism, which goes back to the 1960s7,8, one of the first studies reported thyroiditis in up to 12% of patients with RA9. Major limitations of these studies were cross-sectional or observational designs and lack of “adequate” control groups.To (partly) tackle these limitations and to elucidate whether … Address correspondence to Dr. Nurmohamed. E-mail: m.nurmohamed{at}reade.nl ER -