Statins may cut arthritis risk

Taking statins may reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, a study suggests.

Israeli researchers looked at 1.8m patients and found fewer incidents of the joint condition among those who took the cholesterol-busting drugs.

It was thought statins could ease symptoms in those already diagnosed by stopping the over-production of tissue between the joints.

But the Maccabi Healthcare Services Research Institute study suggested they could stop it developing altogether.

The team discovered 2,500 cases of rheumatoid arthritis, the debilitating inflammation of the joints which affects about one in 100 people.

Regular doses of statins reduce the chance of developing the crippling condition by nearly half, a study found.

The finding raises hopes that the drugs could be used to prevent, or delay, the onset of an illness that afflicts 350,000 Britons.

Statins have been hailed as a “wonder drug”

A breakthrough is vital because there is no cure for arthritis and existing treatments can cause heart attacks and strokes.

Israeli researchers trawled almost two million health records for information about arthritis-free patients who had been started on statins to cut their cholesterol.

Those who took the drugs regularly were 42 per cent less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than those who took them only occasionally.

And the younger a person was when they started on statins, the greater the benefits to their joints.

Their success has led to calls for family doctors to give them to patients over 40 who have just a 20 per cent chance of suffering from heart disease in the next decade. Although statins have been hailed a wonder drug, many patients suffer from severe side-effects, especially muscle aches.

Experts believe it will soon be possible to carry out a simple blood test to discover which patients are at risk of these effects so they can be offered an alternative drug.

Rheumatoid arthritis affects about one in 100 at some point. It usually strikes between the ages of 40 to 60 and is more common in women than in men. It is caused when the body’s immune system starts to attack the joints. This causes swollen and painful joints and can eventually leave sufferers in a wheelchair.

A number of drugs can help to treat the disease and delay progression but it remains incurable.

Diagnosing it early and starting treatment as soon as possible is seen as the key to helping patients.