CRP and rheumatoid arthritis: Daoussis D et al. found that female sex, advanced age, increased serum uric acid levels, the presence of extra-articular disease, and increased cholesterol levels were independently associated with decreased kidney function in a cross sectional, single-center study of 400 consecutive patients with RA.20 Masako K et al., retrospective study found persistently high CRP as an independent predictor of the incidence of CKD (hazard ratio 3.00; 95% confidence interval, 1.23–8.53; P = 0.01).21