Look out for diabetes symptoms when on rheumatoid arthritis treatment

Some rheumatoid arthritis drugs may increase the risk of diabetes, says new research in PLoS ONE, highlighting that monitoring diabetes indicators should be part of routine rheumatoid arthritis management.

Scientists looked at data from over 20,000 people (average age 58 years old) who had rheumatoid arthritis for about 10 years. About 30% of the volunteers were using oral glucocorticoids. Over the study period, 84 people were diagnosed with diabetes.

“Disease modifying antirheumatic drugs, glucocorticoids and obesity influenced the risk of incident diabetes in a large cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients,” the researchers conclude. “Monitoring for the occurrence of diabetes should be part of routine rheumatoid arthritis management with a focus on specific subgroups.”

Click here for the original research findings.

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