Regular statin use is associated with a reduced risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis

Press release from PLoS Medicine

2010-09-08

(Press-News.org) There is an association between taking statins (lipid lowering drugs), and reduced risk of developing the chronic inflammatory disease, rheumatoid arthritis. These are the findings of a study by Gabriel Chodick and colleagues, published in this week's PLoS Medicine.

The researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study among the 1.8-million members of Maccabi Healthcare Services (a health maintenance organization [HMO]) in Israel to identify adults who regularly took statins and did not have rheumatoid arthritis. Using Maccabi's large automated datasets, the researchers then analyzed diagnostic codes to assess the incidence of newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis in this group between 1998 and 2007. To assess any potential bias, the researchers also examined any possible association between persistent statin use and the development of osteoarthritis, a common degenerative joint disease that is unlikely to be affected by statin use.

During the study follow-up period, there were 2,578 incident cases of rheumatoid arthritis and 17,878 incident cases of osteoarthritis. The unadjusted rate of rheumatoid arthritis among patients who did not persistently take statins was 51% higher than that of patients who used statins for at least 80% of the follow-up period. After adjusting for other possible confounders, patients who persistently took statins had a lower risk (risk ratio of 0.58) of developing rheumatoid arthritis compared with patients who did not persistently take statins. There was only a small short term decrease in risk ratio in patients taking statins and the development of osteoarthritis. (hazard ratio of 0.85)

This work needs to be confirmed in other populations before its clinical significance, if any, is clear. As the authors conclude: "Larger, systematic, controlled, prospective studies with high efficacy statins, particularly in younger adults who are at increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis, are needed to confirm these findings and to clarify the exact nature of the biological relationship between adherence to statin therapy and the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis."

INFORMATION: LINK TO MACCABI HEALTHCARE SERVICES RESEARCH INSTITUTE http://www.maccabi-research.org/

Funding: No funding was required or used during the writing of this paper, no funders had any role in the study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation: Chodick G, Amital H, Shalem Y, Kokia E, Heymann AD, et al. (2010) Persistence with Statins and Onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Population-Based Cohort Study. PLoS Med 7(9): e1000336. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000336

IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000336

PRESS-ONLY PREVIEW OF THE ARTICLE: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-07-09-chodick.pdf

CONTACT:
Gabriel Chodick, PhD
Maccabi Healthcare Services
HaMered 27, Tel Aviv Israel 68125
Tel: 972-3-795-2430
Fax: 972-73-213-2831
Email: hodik_g@mac.org.il

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Sexual health: Computer-based approaches increase knowledge

2010-09-08

Interactive computer packages are effective in improving knowledge about sexual health, according to a new study by Cochrane researchers. Computer-based approaches could help to tackle problems such as sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy. Patients may be unlikely to discuss sexual health concerns with health professionals because of the sensitivity of the issues, or simply because healthcare providers have limited time. Computer-based interventions are a promising alternative and have already proved successful in the promotion of HIV-related sexual ...

Acamprosate prevents relapse to drinking in alcoholism

2010-09-08

Acamprosate reduces the number of patients being treated for alcoholism who return to drinking, according to a new Cochrane Systematic Review. The drug showed moderate benefits in trials when used in addition to non-drug treatments. Drinking too much alcohol increases the risk of ill health. According to the World Health Organization, alcohol misuse is at the root of around a quarter of all cases of oesophageal cancer, liver disease and epilepsy, as well as road accidents and homicides. Acamprosate and naltrexone are drugs used alongside psychosocial methods to help ...

Fungal threat to archived film

2010-09-08

Microbes could be threatening our cultural heritage by degrading historic cinematographic film and even preventing some valuable footage to be archived at all. Mr Gavin Bingley who is presenting his work at the Society for General Microbiology's autumn meeting in Nottingham today describes how fungal growth on cinema film can not only lead to deterioration of the film but may also pose a risk to the archivist. "Fungi that form mould on film reels produce enzymes that enable them to use components of the film for growth, leading to degradation of the film," explained ...

Morning sickness: Still no relief

2010-09-08

There are currently no reliably safe and effective treatments for morning sickness, according to Cochrane researchers who conducted a systematic review of the available evidence. There was very limited evidence for all pharmaceutical and alternative medicines tested. Morning sickness is the term used to describe vomiting and feelings of nausea in pregnant women. Symptoms can in fact occur at any time of the day and affect more than half of all women in the early stages of pregnancy. Due to concerns that pharmaceutical medicines may damage their unborn children, women ...

Antibiotics: Longer treatment times that benefit children may cost society

2010-09-08

The likelihood that the treatment of a middle ear infection will fail is slightly higher for a child who is given a shorter course of antibiotics, according to a new Cochrane Systematic Review. The results are conclusive, but the researchers say there are other factors that must be considered when the drugs are prescribed. Most children suffer at some point from a middle ear infection, also called acute otitis media (AOM). It is one of the most common reasons for children being prescribed antibiotics, at a cost of up to $5 billion each year in the US alone. Health practitioners ...

Nevirapine use may be beneficial for some HIV-infected children who have achieved viral suppression

2010-09-08

HIV-infected children in South Africa who were exposed to the drug nevirapine at birth (used to help prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission) and then received a protease inhibitor (PI) for viral suppression achieved lower rates of viremia (virus in the blood stream) if they were switched to nevirapine, compared to children who continued on the PI-based regimen, according to a study in the September 8 issue of JAMA. PI-based therapies generally have a higher cost compared to nevirapine, which may leave some children excluded from treatment. Current guidelines for nevirapine-exposed ...

After resection, common treatment of pancreatic cancer as effective as chemotherapy drug dose

2010-09-08

Use of gemcitabine, a drug that can be effective in treating advanced and resected pancreatic cancer, did not result in improved overall survival after pancreatic cancer resection (surgical removal) compared to patients who received fluorouracil and folinic acid, another treatment regimen that has shown effectiveness, according to a study in the September 8 issue of JAMA. "Pancreatic cancer is one of the major causes of cancer death globally, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 5 percent. The outlook for those patients who can undergo surgical resection is better, ...

Smoking damages men's sperm and also the numbers of germ and somatic cells in developing embryos

2010-09-08

Two new studies have shed more light on how smoking may damage fertility, and give further weight to advice that mothers and fathers-to-be should stop smoking before attempting to conceive. The research is published online in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction today (Wednesday 8 September). In the first study [1], researchers found that a mother's smoking during early pregnancy dramatically reduces the numbers of germ cells (the cells that form eggs in females and sperm in males) and somatic cells (the cells that form every other part of ...

Virginia Tech researchers contribute to turkey genome sequencing

2010-09-08

An international consortium of researchers has completed the majority of the genome sequence of the domesticated turkey, thanks in part to the efforts of Virginia Tech faculty members. The research team will publish "Multi-Platform Next-Generation Sequencing of the Domestic Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo): Genome Assembly and Analysis" in the journal PLoS Biology (Public Library of Science) on Sept. 7, 2010. "To date, more than 90 percent of the domesticated turkey genome has been sequenced and assembled," said Rami Dalloul, assistant professor of animal and poultry sciences ...

Potomac River: 10-fold increase in native submerged vegetation reflects improved water quality

2010-09-08

The Potomac River in Washington, D.C. is showing multiple benefits from restoration efforts, newly published research suggests. Reduced nutrients and improved water clarity have increased the abundance and diversity of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the Potomac, according to direct measurements taken during the 18-year field study. Since 1990, the area covered by SAV in the lower Potomac has doubled, the area covered by native SAV has increased ten-fold, the diversity of plant species has increased, and the proportion of exotic species to native species has declined ...

Iron given through the vein corrects iron deficiency anaemia in pregnant women faster and better than iron taken by mouth

The Lancet Neurology: Air pollution, high temperatures, and metabolic risk factors driving global increases in stroke, with latest figures estimating 12 million cases and over 7 million deaths from st

Regular statin use is associated with a reduced risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: