Does recent glucocorticoid use increase the risk of incident hypertension in patients with rheumatoid arthritis?
Recent glucocorticoid use, especially at doses ≥7.5 mg, increases the risk of incident hypertension in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, highlighting the need for regular blood pressure monitoring.
Recent GC use was associated with incident hypertension in patients with RA, in particular doses ≥7.5 mg were associated with hypertension. Clinicians need to consider cardiovascular risk when prescribing GCs, and ensure blood pressure is regularly monitored and treated where necessary.
Costello et al. (Tue,) studied this question.