The treatment for rotator cuff diseases (RCD) symptoms and for controlling the inflammatory process is crucial to ensure high-quality care for the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, explained in a study issued in 'Journal of Clinical Medicine'.

RA, the principal cause of joint and periarticular inflammation. The relationship between RA and rotator cuff (RC) had already been reported but, there are rare epidemiological studies on RA and RC tendons. So, Wei-Te Wang et al. examined the RCD risk and analyzed the effects of methotrexate and steroids on the risk of RCD among RA patients.

The investigators conducted a retrospective cohort study with longitudinal follow-up for 6 years. The study population included the patients diagnosed with RA between 2004-2008. The control group included the non-RA individuals matched with age and sex. Moreover, the effects of methotrexate and steroids use on RCD risk was also evaluated. Other comorbidities and concomitant treatments were assessed through propensity score and Hazard ratios (HRs) and adjusted HRs (aHRs) were calculated.

In this study, 4521 RA patients and 22605 matched controls were included. The calculated RCD incidence was found to be 145 per 100,000 person-years in RA patients and 91 per 100,000 person-years in control cohorts. The crude HR for RCD was 1.62 and aHR was 1.56 in the RA cohort. The methotrexate and steroid nonusers exhibited an aHR (vs Controls) of 1.61 and 1.69, respectively. But, aHR was not found to be notably high among methotrexate and steroid users when compared to the controls. The RA patients exhibited a higher risk for RCD as opposed to the non-RA control cohort. Use of steroids or methotrexate reduces the risk of RCD occurrence significantly among RA patients. As per the study investigators, further studies are needed to clarify the correlation between the severity of RA and risk of RC tendon lesion to enhance the quality of care for RA patients.