Wung PK et al. – Disease control was associated with lower cumulative glucocorticoid (GC) doses but greater weight gain. The quantity of weight gained by patients during treatment has potential future health implications. Methods
Natural history and health implications of changes in weight that occurs during the treatment of inflammatory disease with GC was investigated
Pts were categorized according to clinical outcome at 1 year: remission, single flare, or multiple flares
Risk factors for gaining 10 kg were examined in multivariate models
Results
Weights at baseline and 1 year were available for 93% of pts analyzed
During year 1, the mean cumulative prednisone dosage in the multiple flares subgroup was 7.9 gm, vs 6.0 gm and 3.9 gm in the single flare and remission subgroups, respectively
Pts in these subgroups gained an average of 2.6 kg, 4.1 kg, and 5.8 kg, respectively
Weight gain did not correlate with cumulative GC dose
22.3% of pts gained and maintained >=10 kg in the first year
New diagnosis of Wegener's granulomatosis at baseline was an independent predictor of gaining >=10 kg at 1 year
Among the 78 pts in the remission subgroup, 40 sustained remissions through the 2-year time point
For these 40 pts, the mean weight gained at year 1 did not regress by the end of year 2, despite the absence of continued GC use
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