Osteoarthritis is usually treated effectively with NSAIDs. Pain and inflammatory processes can thus be contained. But does the treatment entail cardiovascular risk?
The population-based longitudinal study, recently published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, is based on health data from British Columbia, Canada. From a cohort of over 720,000 individuals, 7743 osteoarthritis patients were matched with 23,229 non-arthritis controls. The study authors found that the risk of developing cardiovascular disease was 23% higher among osteoarthritis patients compared with controls without osteoarthritis. Secondary endpoints focused on risk of heart failure (42% higher in osteoarthritis patients), ischemic heart disease (17% higher), and stroke (14% higher). Among these, approximately 41% of the increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease as an osteoarthritis patient was mediated by the use of NSAIDs.
Study leader Aslam Anis of the UBC School of Population and Public Health sums up, “Our results indicate that osteoarthritis is an independent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease, and they suggest that NSAID use contributes substantially to this increased risk.” Given the widespread use of NSAIDs, these results are highly relevant. Aslam Anis therefore stresses the importance of educating osteoarthritis patients about the benefits, but also the risks, of NSAIDs.
Source: Atiquzzaman M, et al: Role of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) in the Association between Osteoarthritis and Cardiovascular Diseases: A Longitudinal Study. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2019 Aug 6. doi: 10.1002/art.41027 [Epub ahead of print].
HAUSARZT PRAXIS 2019; 14(8): 4 (published 8/21/19, ahead of print).
