New study highlights diabetes link to glucocorticoid treatments for arthritis

A new UK study has provided insights into the potential risk of diabetes that exists for arthritis patients who are being treated with glucocorticoid therapy.This type of steroid therapy is a well-established therapeutic option that is prescribed to around half of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. However, it is a known risk factor for developing diabetes.The new research, led by the Arthritis Research UK Centre for Epidemiology at the University of Manchester, looked at the records of more than 20,000 patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the UK, and provided fresh evidence about how this association works.A greater risk for those on larger doses Published in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatology, the study compared rates of new-onset diabetes in those who were prescribed glucocorticoids to those who were not. Glucocorticoids were shown to be associated with one new case of diabetes for every 150 to 200 people treated each year.Users' diabetes risk was affected by dosage only in the most recent six months, with each increase of five mg prednisolone per day carrying a 25 to 30 per cent increase in diabetes cases, although a dose of less than five mg did not carry any such risk.These findings were verified after being compared to data from a further 12,657 records held in the US.The need for informed decision-making It was concluded that low doses of steroids do not increase the risk of diabetes, but those who use them for long periods or at high doses may be susceptibl...
Source: Arthritis Research UK - Category: Rheumatology Source Type: news