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Impact of statin discontinuation on mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a population-based study

Mary A De Vera1, Hyon Choi, Michal Abrahamowicz

  • 1Arthritis Research Centre of Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. mdevera@arthritisresearch.ca.

Arthritis Care & Research
|April 3, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Discontinuing statin therapy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients significantly increases the risk of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all causes. Maintaining statin compliance is crucial for RA patients.

Area of Science:

  • Rheumatology
  • Cardiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
  • Statins are commonly prescribed to manage cardiovascular risk in RA patients.
  • Understanding the impact of statin adherence in this population is critical.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between statin discontinuation and mortality in a population-based cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients.
  • To evaluate the impact on both cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and all-cause mortality.

Main Methods:

  • A population-based longitudinal study using administrative health data from 1996-2006.
  • Included RA patients with incident statin use, defining discontinuation as persistent nonuse for ≥3 months.
  • Cox proportional hazards models were employed, adjusting for various demographic, comorbidity, and RA severity factors.

Main Results:

  • Over 16,144 person-years, 4,102 incident statin users experienced 198 CVD deaths and 467 all-cause deaths.
  • Statin discontinuation was associated with a 1.60-fold increased risk of CVD mortality (95% CI 1.15-2.23).
  • Statin discontinuation was associated with a 1.79-fold increased risk of all-cause mortality (95% CI 1.46-2.20).

Conclusions:

  • Statin discontinuation in RA patients is linked to a significantly higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease and all causes.
  • These findings underscore the importance of statin therapy adherence in rheumatoid arthritis management.
  • Ensuring compliance with statin prescriptions is vital for improving outcomes in RA patients.
Abstract

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