Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly prescribed for the pain and inflammation of osteoarthritis. But little is known about the long-term effects of these drugs on disease progression. According to a study by the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California, San Francisco, NSAIDs could, in the long term, aggravate inflammation of the joints, and in particular the knee joint.
For this study, 277 patients suffering from moderate to severe knee osteoarthritis and following sustained treatment with NSAIDs for at least one year were included and compared to a group of 793 control participants who were not taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. . All participants underwent knee MRIs at the start of the study and after four years to check for biomarkers of inflammation.
Inflammation that gets worse over the years
The results showed no long-term benefit from NSAID use. Worse: Joint inflammation and cartilage quality were worse at baseline in participants taking NSAIDs, compared to the control group, and even got worse after the four-year follow-up. “In this large group of participants, we were able to show that NSAIDs offer no protective mechanism to reduce inflammation or slow the progression of osteoarthritis of the knee joint,” said Dr. Johanna Luitjens, lead author of the study.
“The use of NSAIDs for their anti-inflammatory function has frequently spread among patients with osteoarthritis in recent years and should be revisited, as a positive impact on joint inflammation could not be demonstrated” adds she.
This study was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
