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Beneficial Action of Statins in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis in a Large Observational Cohort
HIROSHI OKAMOTO, KYOKO KOIZUMI, SHIGEO KAMITSUJI, EISUKE INOUE, MASAKO HARA, TAISUKE TOMATSU, NAOYUKI KAMATANI, and HISASHI YAMANAKA ABSTRACT. Objective. To analyze the possible beneficial effects of statins on the disease activity of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using a database from a large observational cohort study. Methods. We studied a total of 7512 patients enrolled in a single-institute based prospective observational cohort of RA patients (IORRA); their information was collected biannually. In this study, cross-sectional data of 4152 patients (female 83.3%, average age 58.4 yrs) in October 2003 were analyzed (Mann-Whitney U-test). Results. Among 4152 patients with RA, 279 (6.7%) were taking statins; patients taking statins had lower C-reactive protein (0.85 vs 1.24 mg/dl, respectively) and lower swollen joint counts (1.80 vs 2.55), but more frequently used corticosteroids (2.88 vs 2.40 mg/day) compared to patients not taking statins. Serum cholesterol level was closely related to the use of corticosteroids. Thus, an adjustment with the dose of corticosteroid was conducted; even taking account of the effects of steroids, RA disease activity indicated by patient's assessment for pain, physician's assessment, and swollen joint counts was significantly lower in patients with statins compared to those without. Conclusion. This study indicates that statins have beneficial effects in reducing RA disease activity in the daily practice of rheumatology. (First Release April 15 2007; J Rheumatol 2007;34:964–8) Key Indexing Terms:
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS From the Institute of Rheumatology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan. The IORRA cohort research is supported by a grant from the following: Wyeth K.K.; Santen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.; Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.; Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho Co. Ltd.; Tanabe Seiyaku Co. Ltd.; Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.; Taisho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.; Eisai Co. Ltd.; Banyu Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.; Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co. Ltd.; Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.; Japan Tobacco Inc.; Torii Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.; Sankyo Co. Ltd.; Teijin Pharma Ltd.; Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd.; Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd.; Aventis Pharma Ltd.; GlaxoSmithKline K.K.; Asahi Kasei Pharma Co.; Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.; Novartis Pharma K.K.; Pfizer Japan Inc.; Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.; Kaken Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.; Toyama Chemical Co. Ltd.; Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.; Kowa Co. Ltd.; Mitsubishi Pharma Co.; AstraZeneca Co. Ltd.; Zeria Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.; Nippon Chemiphar Co. Ltd.; and Kissei Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. H. Okamoto, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor; K. Koizumi, MD, PhD, Instructor; S. Kamitsuji, PhD, Instructor; E. Inoue, BEng, Fellow; M. Hara, MD, PhD, Professor; T. Tomatsu, MD, PhD, Professor; N. Kamatani, MD, PhD, Professor, Chair, Institute of Rheumatology; H. Yamanaka, MD, PhD, Professor. Address reprint requests to Dr. H. Okamoto, Institute of Rheumatology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 10-22 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-0054, Japan. E-mail: hokamoto@ior.twmu.ac.jp Accepted for publication February 8, 2007.
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