NSAID use may not be safe for older patients with type 2 diabetes
Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may face an increased risk of heart failure, according to new research to be presented at ESC Congress 2022, the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology.
NSAIDs have long been linked to potential cardiac complications, the study’s authors noted, but it is unclear on how these medications impact T2D patients specifically. To learn more, the group tracked more than 330,000 T2D patients who were diagnosed from 1998 to 2021. The average patient age was 62 years old, 56% were men and the median follow-up period was nearly six years.
Sixteen percent of patients included in the study had at least one NSAID prescription, and 3% had at least three NSAID prescriptions. Ibuprofen was the most common NSAID prescribed to patients, followed by diclofenac and naproxen.
Overall, at the end of the follow-up period, more than 23,000 patients were hospitalized for heart failure for the first time. NSAID use was linked to a heightened risk of a first-time hospitalization for heart failure, and the risk was greatest with diclofenac and ibuprofen.
Diving deeper into the data, the authors also found that the risk of a first-time heart failure hospitalization was especially high among patients older than 65 years old, patients who are struggling to control their diabetes symptoms and patients who were infrequent NSAID users.
”In general, we always recommend that patients consult their doctor before starting a new medication, and with results from this study we hope to help doctors mitigate risk if prescribing NSAIDs,” lead author Anders Holt, MD, a cardiologist with Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, said in a prepared statement.
The team’s study focused on NSAID prescriptions, not over-the-counter offerings. However, Holt said this limitation “likely had no impact on the results.” Another limitation is that this was an observational study; additional research is still needed before any conclusions can be made about the association between NSAIDs and heart failure risk among T2D patients.
“The results suggest that a potential increased risk of heart failure should be taken into account when considering the use of these medications,” Holt said. “On the contrary, the data indicate that it may be safe to prescribe short-term NSAIDs for patients below 65 years of age and those with well-controlled diabetes.”
ESC Congress 2022 is scheduled for August 26-29 in Barcelona. More information is available here.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.