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Statins May Increase Arthritis Risk in Elderly Women
Last Updated: 2005-02-01 14:38:18 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The use of statins, cholesterol-lowering drugs
such as Lipitor and Pravachol, appears to be associated with an increased
risk of developing osteoarthritis of the hip in elderly women, California
researchers report. However, patients who already have osteoarthritis do not
seem to be adversely affected by these drugs.
Dr. Nancy E. Lane of the University of California at San Francisco and
colleagues note that, in theory, statins could reduce the risk of
osteoarthritis because of their anti-inflammatory effects. However, their
actual impact on osteoarthritis is not known.
To investigate further, the researchers examined data for 5674 women 65
years or older, of whom 7 percent were users of any commercially available
statin. At the start of the study osteoarthritis, detected by X-ray imaging,
was seen in 936 hips in 745 women, while 9,318 hips had no evidence of
osteoarthritis.
After 8 years of follow-up, Lane's group found that statin use was
associated with a 92-percent increased risk of developing osteoarthritis of
the hip. However, the use of these drugs was not related to other measures
of new disease, they report in the January issue of the Journal of
Rheumatology.
The researchers also observed a consistent trend towards slower progression
in statin users who had osteoarthritis of the hip at the start of the study.
However, this trend did not reach statistical significance.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Christopher J. Penney of the University of
Calgary notes that although there was a modest but significant increase in
the chance of hip osteoarthritis, "statins were not associated with
worsening of structural disease."
SOURCE: Journal of Rheumatology, January 2005.
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