Study: Longterm Use of Low-Dose Glucocorticoids Increases Mortality in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Low-dose oral glucocorticoids used to treat rheumatoid arthritis for more than 10 years increases the risk of mortality, according to researchers in Finland. Glucocorticoids are also commonly referred to as corticosteroids or steroids. In the study, published in the September 2006 issue of the Journal of Rheumatology, mortality was analyzed in 604 rheumatoid arthritis patients. General health, severity of rheumatoid arthritis, and treatment plans were recorded in 1988. Cause of death was evaluated in 1999 for three groups:

• Patients not treated with glucocorticoids
• Patients treated with glucocorticoids for less than 10 years
• Patients treated with glucocorticoids for more than 10 years

By 1999, 160 patients had died (23 percent of the group who had not received glucocorticoids, 21 percent of the group who had been treated with glucocorticoids for less than 10 years, and 45 percent of the group who had been treated with glucocorticoids for more than 10 years). In all groups, the major cause of death was cardiovascular disease, but increased mortality in the group using glucocorticoids for more than 10 years was attributed to infection and intestinal perforation due to amyloidosis.

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• Why Glucocorticoids Must Not Be Stopped Suddenly
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• Differences Between Anabolic Steroids and Glucocorticoids
• Low-Dose Steroids Reduce Joint Damage Associated With Rheumatoid Arthritis

_{Photo by Valeriu Rus (iStockphoto)}