Treatment with inhaled corticosteroids in people with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease raised the risk for diabetes onset for current users by 34%, but recent data indicate that patients receiving higher doses were hit hardest.
"[Inhaled corticosteroids] are very effective in treating asthma, so the benefits clearly outweigh the risk for asthmatics," Samy Suissa, PhD, study researcher and director of the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology at the Lady Davis Research Institute in Montreal, said in a press release. "However, their effectiveness is questionable in [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease], where they are also used in higher doses. This is a very different risk/benefit situation."
Canadian researchers also noted that prevalence and incidence of type 2 diabetes are higher in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. "The co-existence of these two chronic conditions among the elderly becomes important if corticosteroid medications used in the treatment of [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] also are associated with deterioration in glycemic control," they wrote.
Link to paper:
Suissa S. Am J Med. 2010;doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2010.06.019.
Thanks to Jenny.
Edited by rwac, 22 November 2010 - 08:34 PM.
