Introduction:

Rheumatoid arthritis is described as an autoimmune disease in which there is a genetic pattern with alterations in the histocompatibility system; HLA DR4 being the pattern that is most frequently reported in this disease.

Objective:

To identify the relationship between genetic alterations and seropositivity in patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods:

Observational, cross-sectional and descriptive research with a universe of 157 patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, of which 113 were part of the research sample. The presence of rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies was determined, and a genetic study was performed to identify the presence of HLA-DR3 and HLA-DR4. The non-parametric Pearson correlation test was used to determine the correlation between the genetic pattern and seropositivity.

Results:

Average age of 58.74 years with a predominance of female patients (72.57 %); 38.05 % presented at least one associated comorbidity. Rheumatoid factor was positive in 60.18 % of the patients, while positive anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide was identified in 41.59 % of the cases studied. Genetic pattern alterations were identified in 66.37 % of the patients; HLA DR4 was present independently in 38.67 % of the positive cases and combined with HLA DR3 in 20.66 %.

Conclusion:

A significant positive correlation was identified between alterations in the genetic pattern and seropositivity. The presence of genetic pattern alterations triples the risk of seropositivity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

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