Editor: Akhmetova Aigerim
Translator: Bolysbek Dana
Author: Aldiyarbek Nurlan
To quantify glucocorticoid dose-related cardiovascular risk, the researchers analyzed medical records of 87,794 patients diagnosed with 6 different immune-mediated inflammatory diseases who were treated in 389 UK primary care clinics between 1998 and 2017.
The researchers found that for patients taking less than 5 milligrams of prednisone per day, the absolute risk of cardiovascular disease almost doubled compared to patients not taking glucocorticoids. Increased dose-related risk ratios were found for all measured CVDs, including atrial fibrillation, heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, peripheral arterial disease, cerebrovascular disease, and abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Previously, it was believed that taking 5 mg of glucocorticoid over the long-term was safe, but the study suggests that even patients taking low doses have double the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. These findings suggest patients needing long-term steroid treatment should be prescribed the lowest effective dose and have a personalized cardiovascular risk prevention plan that accounts for past and current steroid use. Although the study was limited by the lack of available hospital data on prescription drug adherence and may have reduced the size of dose-response estimates, the authors believe that the large sample size contributes to greater generalizability of the results.
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201203144217.htm
