Fab-linked glycans as biomarker for the transition from a pre-disease "at-risk-phase" to rheumatoid arthritis; AAV or Sjogren syndrome

The invention provides means and methods for determining whether an individual that does not have rheumatoid arthritis, AAV or Sjogren syndrome at the moment of sampling is at risk of developing said disease, the method comprises determining whether an antibody containing sample of said individual comprises an autoantibody associated with said disease that comprises an N-linked glycosylation at one or more positions in a Fab-portion of the antibody, the method further comprising determining the risk of the individual for developing said disease. The disease is preferably rheumatoid arthritis.