Article Figures & Data
Tables
- Table 1.
Characteristics of the patients using/not using glucocorticoids (GC). Data expressed as percentage or mean ± SD.
Characteristic GC Nonusers, n = 68 GC Users, n = 297 p Men, no. 26.4 35.5 NS Age, yrs (range) 66.1 ± 12.3 (28–90) 66.7 ± 11.7 (26–89) NS BMI 26.2 ± 4.6 26.3 ± 5.1 NS Disease duration, yrs 16.3 ± 6.1 16.8 ± 6.3 NS Daily GC dose, mg (range) — 4.1 ± 1.2 (4–6) — Cumulative GC dose, g (range) — 12 ± 10 (1–38) — Duration of GC use, yrs (range) — 8 ± 6 (1–20) — Erosive disease, no. 71.2 74.3 NS NSAID/COX-2 inhibitor users, no. 65.5 71.2 NS No. DMARD used (range) 1.8 ± 1.3 (1–4) 3.2 ± 1.5 (1–6) < 0.01 RF-positive, no. 52 64 < 0.05 Anti-CCP-positive, no. 34 58 < 0.01 -
BMI: body mass index; NSAID: nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug; COX: cyclooxygenase; DMARD: disease modifying antirheumatic drug; RF: rheumatoid factor; anti-CCP: anticyclic citrullinated peptide. NS: nonsignificant.
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Events GC Nonusers, % GC Users, % p Any adverse event 32.4 53.9 < 0.002 Fractures 6 18.2 < 0.02 Arterial hypertension 10.4 32.3 < 0.0005 Myocardial infarction 1.5 13.1 < 0.01 Diabetes mellitus 13.4 12.1 NS Cataract 10.4 13.9 NS Infections 3 6.1 NS -
GC: glucocorticoid: NS: not significant.
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- Table 3.
Prevalence of adverse events in groups with different durations of glucocorticoid treatment.
Events Nonusers, n = 68, (%) Users < 2 yrs, n = 52, (%) Users 2–5 yrs, n = 60, (%) Users > 5 yrs, n = 185, (%) Any adverse event 32.4 28.8 47.5 62.7 Fractures 6.0 3.8 5.0 26.6* Arterial hypertension 10.4 19.2 30.0** 36.7*** Myocardial infarction 1.5 9.6 6.6 16.1† Diabetes mellitus 13.4 9.6 14.8 11.9 Cataract 10.4 5.8 13.3 16.2 Infections 3 0 0 9.7†† No. of Adverse Events GC Nonusers GC Users 1 17 86 2 2 40 3 3 24 4 — 4 5 — 6 6 — — -
GC: glucocorticoid.
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In this issue
Incident Comorbidity Among Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated or Not with Low-dose Glucocorticoids: A Retrospective Study
