Hormonal replacement therapy may reduce the risk for RA in women with early arthritis who carry HLA-DRB1 *01 and/or *04 alleles by protecting against the production of anti-CCP: results from the ESPOIR cohort.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To assess the effect of reproductive factors, especially hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and its interaction with HLA-DRB1 *01 and/or *04 alleles on the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the presence of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibodies in women included in the ESPOIR cohort (early arthritis cohort).

METHODS:

568 patients were included in the analyses, which were performed using logistic regression.

RESULTS:

HRT reduced the risk of RA due to the HLA-DRB1 *01 and/or *04 alleles from OR 1.88 (95% CI 1.32 to 2.68, p<0.000) for HLA-DRB1 *01 and/or *04 alleles alone to OR 1.07 (95% CI 0.51 to 2.26, p=0.85) in women with HLA-DRB1 *01 and/or *04 alleles who received HRT. One explanation might be the protective effect of HRT on the presence of anti-CCP antibodies (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.77, p<0.006). Other reproductive factors such as the number of pregnancies, menopause and age at menopause, age at menarche and a history of pregnancy with poor outcome were not associated with the diagnosis of RA and the presence of anti-CCP antibodies.

CONCLUSION:

HRT may reduce the risk of RA due to HLA-DRB1 *01 and/or *04 alleles by protecting against the production of anti-CCP antibodies.

• Authors: Carine Salliot, Claire Bombardier, Alain Saraux, Bernard Combe, Maxime Dougados
• Journal: Annals of the rheumatic diseases (Ann Rheum Dis) Vol. 69 Issue 9 Pg. 1683-6 (Sep 2010) ISSN: 1468-2060 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 19740903 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Autoantibodies
• HLA-DR Antigens
• HLA-DRB1 Chains
• HLA-DRB1*01 antigen
• HLA-DRB1*04 antigen
• Peptides, Cyclic
• cyclic citrullinated peptide

Topics

• Adult
• Arthritis, Rheumatoid (genetics, immunology, prevention & control)
• Autoantibodies (biosynthesis)
• Disease Progression
• Estrogen Replacement Therapy
• Female
• Genetic Predisposition to Disease
• HLA-DR Antigens (genetics)
• HLA-DRB1 Chains
• Humans
• Middle Aged
• Peptides, Cyclic (immunology)
• Severity of Illness Index
• Young Adult