TY - JOUR T1 - Effect of Traditional Cardiovascular Risk Factors on the Independent Relationship of Leptin with Atherosclerosis in Rheumatoid Arthritis JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 2087 LP - 2089 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.140315 VL - 41 IS - 10 AU - PATRICK H. DESSEIN AU - LINDA TSANG AU - ANGELA J. WOODIWISS AU - AHMED SOLOMON Y1 - 2014/10/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/41/10/2087.abstract N2 - To the Editor:Leptin is an adipokine that regulates appetite and energy expenditure1. Both high and low leptin production can further increase cardiovascular (CV) risk1. Leptin is also produced in inflamed joints and implicated in the pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)2.Whether leptin increases CV risk in RA is currently uncertain. Two studies reported a lack of association between leptin concentrations and carotid artery intima-media thickness (cIMT) in RA3,4. Leptin concentrations were also found to be unrelated to coronary artery classification scores in RA5. However, we recently reported an independent relationship between leptin concentrations and surrogate markers of early atherogenesis in young patients with RA2. Importantly, in the present context, carotid artery plaque is a more reliable indicator of atherosclerosis than cIMT6.In our present study, we examined the independent relationships of leptin concentrations with cIMT and plaque in 217 (112 black and 105 white) patients with RA. Because the production and effects of adipokines on CV risk depend on pathophysiological context1,2,7, we also determined whether the presence of conventional and nonconventional CV risk factors modified leptin concentrations and their associations with atherosclerosis. … Address correspondence to Prof. P.H. Dessein, P.O. Box 1012, Melville 2109, Johannesburg, South Africa. E-mail: dessein{at}telkomsa.net ER -