COVID-19 Ills No Greater for Those With Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis

FRIDAY, Sept. 4, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- People with lupus aren't at increased risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 due to steroidal medications they take to reduce immune system activity, a new study finds.

And a related study found that people with inflammatory forms of arthritis -- such as rheumatoid arthritis -- aren't more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than people without arthritis.

Both studies were led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, in New York City.

The findings "should reassure most patients, especially those on immunosuppressant therapy, that they are at no greater risk of having to be admitted to hospital from COVID-19 than other lupus or arthritis patients," Dr. Ruth Fernandez-Ruiz, co-author of the studies, said in an NYU Langone news release.

"People with lupus or inflammatory arthritis have the same risk factors for getting seriously ill from COVID-19 as people without these disorders," said Fernandez-Ruiz, a postdoctoral fellow in rheumatology.

Lupus and conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and spondyloarthritis are autoimmune diseases in which the immune system mistakenly attacks a person's own tissues. This causes inflammation in the joints, skin, kidneys and other parts of the body.

The researchers found that lupus patients taking immune-suppressing medications -- such as mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept) and azathioprine (Imuran) -- had no greater risk of hospitalization (15 out of 24) than lupus patients not using the medications (nine of 17).

In addition, the COVID-19 hospitalization rate for people with inflammatory arthritis (26%) was similar to that of New York City residents overall (25%).

Another finding was that patients taking biologic drugs for arthritis, such as adalimumab (Humira) and etanercept (Enbrel), or the antiviral hydroxychloroquine, had no greater or lower risk of COVID-19 hospitalization than those not taking the drugs.

But patients who took steroids called glucocorticoids, even in mild doses, had a 10 times higher risk of COVID-19 hospitalization than those who didn't take steroids. Although the finding is statistically significant, the study's small size may overestimate the actual risk, the researchers noted.

The studies were recently published online in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatology.

More information

The Lupus Foundation of American has more on lupus.