Glucocorticoids in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: a neglected cardiovascular risk factor

n this observational study, Pujades-Rodriguez et al. 1 confirm an increased risk of heterogeneous cardiovascular conditions, ranging from atrial fibrillation to MI, stroke, and heart failure in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases taking glucocorticoids. They also confirm that this detrimental effect follows a dose-response pattern, though one should consider that the dosage of the drug taken by each patient in the study is derived from charts, thus the effects may have been over- or under-estimated.