AgingResearch.NewsJoin free
The Archives of Bone and Joint Surgery

Drug use linked to more surgery for shoulder arthritis

Shoulder replacements occurred in 2.25% of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist users versus 1.77% of non-users in a matched database study.

Paper by Tarek Haj Shehadeh, Joseph A Abboud · Cleveland Clinic Foundation · Rothman Orthopaedic Institute
Figure 1. Kaplan-Meier Survival Curve
Open the figure at full size
Figure 1. Kaplan-Meier Survival CurveKaplan-Meier Survival CurveHaj Shehadeh et al.

Our read

Populations
Studied:
Cohort study of patients with primary shoulder osteoarthritis, against GLP-1RA non-users
The catch:
Arthritis severity and decisions about surgery could differ between groups despite matching
In the record:
The 462nd paper on GLP-1 receptor agonists with results in people; 4,947 on record in all. Its result on C-reactive protein agrees with all 8 other findings on record.

Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News

Paper
Follow @agingbrief

Patients with primary shoulder osteoarthritis, a disease that damages the joint, were compared in a retrospective database study with 24,669 people in each matched group. One group had prescriptions for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists—drugs that activate a hormone receptor—before diagnosis; the other did not. The researchers matched the groups to balance other medical conditions.

Shoulder replacement occurred in 2.25% of users and 1.77% of non-users, over average follow-ups of 731 and 1,220 days, respectively. The authors concluded that use of these drugs was not associated with protection against progression to shoulder replacement.

Why it matters

Degenerative joint disease can lead to joint replacement. The authors suggested that differences between joints may help account for why the shoulder findings differed from reports for hips and knees.

Caveats

Matching medical conditions could not rule out differences in arthritis severity or decisions about surgery. The analysis excluded people with other shoulder conditions.

Where the evidence stands

GLP-1 receptor agonists

Cells, worms or flies, mice and humans: replicated by independent labs.

C, W, M, H: cells, worms or flies, mice, humans. Dark: independent labs found the same change there. Light: one lab or one study. Outline: nothing yet.

Labs are independent when their papers share no last author and no institution.

Against: findings that point the other way from most findings on the same outcome.

No results posted: trials that ended over a year ago with no results on ClinicalTrials.gov and no paper reporting them.

Company ties: findings with an author at a company, or from a paper whose competing-interests statement declares ties to one.

  • 1,008 independent labs in 89 countries
  • 740 findings against
  • 1,243 trials, 310 with no results posted
  • Funders: Eli Lilly and Company and others
  • 1,735 of 7,161 findings with company ties
  • 758 of 1,243 trials sponsored by its developers

Inflammation

Cells, worms or flies, mice and humans: replicated by independent labs.

C, W, M, H: cells, worms or flies, mice, humans. Dark: independent labs found the same change there. Light: one lab or one study. Outline: nothing yet.

Labs are independent when their papers share no last author and no institution.

Against: findings that point the other way from most findings on the same outcome.

Company ties: findings with an author at a company, or from a paper whose competing-interests statement declares ties to one.

Includes the processes named after it and trials of drugs aimed at it.

  • 1,054 independent labs in 77 countries
  • 207 findings against
  • Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China and others
  • 392 of 4,664 findings with company ties

Comments

Be the first to comment.

More peptides

More on GLP-1 receptor agonists