Even low doses of steroids can increase the risk of heart disease: Study

We all know that steroids are not healthy for the body. But the truth is that for the longest time, they have been used to treat various diseases in small doses. Now, a new study found that even small doses can put you at risk of certain health diseases. 

Glucocorticoids are steroids which are widely prescribed to treat a range of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. While high doses of steroids are known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, the impact of lower doses was unknown. 

A new study led by Mar Pujades-Rodriguez at Leeds University and published in PLOS Medicine suggests that even low doses of glucocorticoid may increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Here’s what the researchers did

To quantify glucocorticoid dose-dependent cardiovascular risk, researchers analyzed medical records of 87,794 patients diagnosed with six different immune-mediated inflammatory diseases receiving care from 389 the United Kingdom primary care clinics in 1998-2017. 

The researchers found that for patients using less than 5 milligrams prednisolone per day, the absolute risk of cardiovascular disease nearly doubled compared to patients not using glucocorticoids. 

Increased dose-dependent risk ratios were found across all CVDs measured, including atrial fibrillation, heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, peripheral arterial disease, cerebrovascular disease, and abdominal aortic aneurysm.

The study suggests that…

Previously, it was believed that taking 5 mg of glucocorticoid over the long-term was safe, but the study suggests that even patients taking low doses have double the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. 

These findings suggest patients needing long-term steroid treatment should be prescribed the lowest effective dose and have a personalized cardiovascular risk prevention plan that accounts for past and current steroid use. 

Although the study was limited by the lack of available hospital data on prescription drug adherence and may have reduced the size of dose-response estimates, the authors believe that the large sample size contributes to greater generalizability of the results.

According to the authors, “Our findings highlight the importance of implementing and evaluating targeted intensive cardiovascular risk factor modification interventions; promptly and regularly monitor patient cardiovascular risk, beyond the diagnosis of inflammatory arthropathies and systemic lupus erythematosus, even when prescribing low prednisolone-equivalent doses.”