RESEARCH - Association between regular statin use and a reduced risk of developing RA

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Associatiion Between Regular Statin Use And A Reduced Risk Of

Developing Rheumatoid Arthritis

MedicalNewsToday.com

Article Date: 08 Sep 2010 - 5:00 PDT

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

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.

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