TY - JOUR T1 - Disease Activity Score-28 using γGT Permits A Dual Evaluation Of Joint Activity And Cardiovascular Risk JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol DO - 10.3899/jrheum.200185 SP - jrheum.200185 AU - Hélène Vergneault AU - Eloïse Vandebeuque AU - Veronica Codullo AU - Yannick Allanore AU - Jérôme Avouac Y1 - 2020/06/15 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2020/06/09/jrheum.200185.abstract N2 - Objective To identify the factors potentially associated with serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (γGT) elevation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods Cross-sectional monocentric study including RA patients for a 12-month period. Data on liver function, RA disease activity, hepatotoxic and cardiovascular (CV) risk factors were systematically collected. To provide a simple tool to evaluate both joint disease activity and CV risk factors, we constructed the DAS28-γGT composite index by replacing ESR by γGT. Results Among the 129 included patients, 32 (25%) had isolated γGT increase. γGT correlated with age, CRP levels, body weight and were significantly increased in patients with alcohol intake, type 2 diabetes mellitus, blood hypertension, dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome. γGT levels also gradually increased with the number of CV risk factors and correlated with the Framingham CV risk score. The composite index DAS28-γGT remained a reliable marker of RA disease activity and accurately detected patients with CV risk factors. Conversely to the DAS28 and the DAS28-CRP, the DAS28-γGT steadily increased according to the number of CV risk factors and had an increased diagnostic value compared to the DAS28 and DAS28-CRP for the presence of at least 2 CV risk factors and a Framingham CV risk score >10%. Conclusion γGT may be considered as a marker of systemic inflammation and CV risk in RA patients. Based on these findings, we herein propose an original index, the DAS28-γGT, able to evaluate both joint disease activity and CV risk. This index will deserve further validation in prospective cohorts. ER -