Key clinical point: The use of combination therapy or biologics was associated with a lower risk for diabetes than methotrexate monotherapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with hydroxychloroquine having a significant protective effect on the development of diabetes.
Major finding: The risk for diabetes was significantly lower in the biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) periods (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.51; 95% CI 0.32-0.83), methotrexate combination periods (aHR 0.50; 95% CI 0.32-0.78), and other conventional DMARD periods (aHR 0.56; 95% CI 0.37-0.84) than in the methotrexate monotherapy periods. Hydroxychloroquine (aHR 0.52; P < .001) and sulfasalazine (aHR 0.69; P = .002) had a significant protective effect on diabetes development.
Study details: The data come from a retrospective cohort study that included 5530 adults with RA without diabetes.
Disclosures: This study did not declare any specific funding or conflicts of interest.
Source: Su YJ et al. Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs associated with different diabetes risks in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. RMD Open. 2023;9:e003045 (Jul 17). doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2023-003045