The following is a summary of ‘’Brief report: can COVID-19 infection trigger rheumatoid arthritis-associated autoimmunity in individuals at risk for the disease? A nested cohort study,” published in the July 2023 issue of Rheumatology by Lamacchia et al.
Researchers performed a retrospective study to examine the potential link between infection by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the subsequent emergence of autoimmunity or pre-clinical signs related to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a susceptible population. Participants, who were first-degree relatives of RA patients (RA-FDR), undergone testing for RA-associated autoantibodies (anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA)/rheumatoid factor (RF)) and were evaluated for clinical indications of early-stage RA.
From March 2020 to January 2023, individuals with pre-pandemic and post-pandemic samples were analyzed to study the impact of self-reported SARS-CoV-2 infection. The main outcome was a significant change in serum titers of RA-associated autoantibodies.
Secondary outcomes included becoming seropositive, experiencing symptoms, and developing classifiable RA. Out of 168 individuals with a family history of RA, 109 reported being infected with SARS-CoV-2 between sample 1 and sample 2. During this period, 2 individuals (1.2%) became positive for anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide 2 (anti-CCP2) antibodies, none became positive for anti-CCP3 IgG, 6 (3.6%) became positive for RF Immunoglobulin M (IgM), 1 (0.6%) became positive for RF Immunoglobulin A (IgA), and 19 (11.3%) experienced symptoms. However, none of the individuals developed classifiable RA.
Study found no evidence that SARS-CoV-2 infection can trigger RA in people who are at risk for the disease.
Source: frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1201425/full