Relationship between adverse drug reaction of oral corticosteroid therapy and background factors in systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

The adverse drug reactions of corticosteroids in 116 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were examined. Younger patients who received high-dose corticosteroids had a significantly higher incidence of hyperlipidemia than older patients who received low-dose corticosteroids. The incidence of aseptic bone necrosis (AN) was significantly higher in younger than older patients. Moreover, infectious disease had a significantly higher incidence with high-dose corticosteroids than in those who received low-dose corticosteroids. Patients having more than two lifestyle-related diseases as adverse drug reactions frequently had ischemic heart disease or cerebrovascular disease. Lifestyle-related diseases were frequently present in patients with metabolic syndrome. Thus, the possibility of lifestyle-related diseases as background factors should be considered in relation to adverse drug reactions to corticosteroids in SLE.