New publication about predicting increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis through a simple blood sample

In an article in the leading rheumatology journal "Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases", research based on the Swedish Twin Registry was presented. Researchers have investigated the possibility of predicting who is at increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, based on measurements in a simple blood sample.

The presence of so-called ACPA antibodies was measured in 12 600 twins. A large percentage of persons with this type of antibodies had rheumatoid arthritis, or came to develop the disease during follow-up. The risk increased with increasing levels of ACPA in the blood. The diagnostic value thus depends on the concentration of ACPA.

Reference: Hensvold AH, Frisell T, Magnusson PK, Holmdahl R, Askling J, Catrina AI. How well do ACPA discriminate and predict RA in the general population: a study based on 12 590 population-representative Swedish twins. Ann Rheum Dis. 2017 Jan;76(1):119-125.