Frequency of Development of Connective Tissue Disease in Statin-Users Versus Nonusers

Pattern of risks of systemic lupus erythematosus among statin users: a population-based cohort study

“…However, a propensity score matched cohort study of 6956 pairs of statin users and non-users showed an association between statin use and a lower risk of CTD (approximately 13% of the CTD patients were patients with SLE) during a 1-year study period 14. In the first year of statin exposure, we found no decrease in the development of SLE which became only significant after 1 year of statin use.…”

“…The mean time from statin exposure to the onset of SLE has been described as 12.8±18 months (range 1 month–6 years) 12. However, one study showed that statin use was associated with a decreased risk of connective tissue disease (CTD), including SLE14 To date, there is no robust evidence of whether statins have an effect on the development of SLE. We examined the association between the use of statins and the risk of SLE with focus on describing the pattern of risk of SLE over time.…”

Statins and Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Nested Case–Control Study

“…However, that study included only 4,496 individuals exposed to rosuvastatin, whereas our cohort included ∼75,000 individuals in the equivalent intensity quintile. Finally, in an observational study , the risk of connective tissue disease was lower in users of statins compared to nonusers (OR 0.80 [95% CI 0.64–0.99]); however, in that study, subjects in whom this outcome was already present at baseline were not excluded, and RA was not analyzed separately.…”

Pattern of risks of rheumatoid arthritis among patients using statins: A cohort study with the clinical practice research datalink

“…The following risk factors were considered as potential confounders: use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), aspirin, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), antibiotics, hormone replacement therapy, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, anti-psychotics, anti-arrhythmic and other lipid-lowering agents within 6 months before the index date [ 19 , 29 , 30 , 46 , 47 ]. In addition, a diagnosis of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidaemia, cardiovascular disease, asthma, inflammatory bowel and thyroid disease, and body mass index (BMI), smoking and alcohol intake (a record of currently smoking or drinking, ex-smoker or -drinker, or never smoked or drank) ever before index date were considered as potential confounders [ 19 , 26 – 31 , 33 , 46 , 48 , 49 ].…”

“…Apart from our studies [ 17 – 19 , 21 , 25 ], six other studies have described the risk of developing RA or connective tissue disease (CTD) (the majority of the patients were coded with RA) during statin treatment, and have shown conflicting results [ 26 – 31 ]. Possible explanations for these conflicting findings may be attributed to the lag-time between statin use and incident RA [ 27 , 29 ], using different definitions of exposure to statins [ 19 , 26 – 31 ], using different definitions of RA [ 19 , 27 – 31 ], comparing to a control group of non-persistent statin users [ 27 ] or lowest duration weighted average statin intensity [ 31 ] instead of non-users, controlling for other confounders [ 19 , 26 – 31 ], shifting the date of incident RA [ 19 , 26 ], propensity score matching on baseline characteristics [ 30 ], or conducting separate analyses in patients with or without a medical history of cardiovascular risk factors ( S1 Table ) [ 19 , 26 ].…”