We evaluated the relationship between calprotectin levels and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and the correlation between plasma/serum calprotectin and RA activity.
We searched PUBMED, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases and performed meta-analyses comparing plasma/serum or synovial fluid calprotectin levels in RA patients and controls, and correlation coefficients between calprotectin levels and disease activity for 28 joints (DAS28) as well as C-reactive protein (CRP) in RA patients.
Sixteen studies including 849 RA patients and 266 controls were available for meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed that calprotectin levels were significantly higher in the RA group than in the control group (SMD = 2.337, 95% CI = 1.544-3.130, p < 1.0 × 10
Our meta-analysis demonstrates that circulating and synovial fluid calprotectin levels are high in patients with RA, and that circulating calprotectin levels positively correlate with RA activity.