Indeed, in both RA cohorts, these analyses showed that nor age nor the menopausal status acted as a confounding variable among RA patients in parameters related to the activity of the disease, autoantibody profile (i.e., positivity for RF or ACPAs), and the expression levels of prothrombotic/inflammatory mediators (i.e., TF, IL6 or TNFalpha) (data not shown). This evidence concerns the gene IL6 and rheumatoid arthritis.