Table 4.
Associations between prednisone, disease activity and outcomes glucose levels over time, hyperglycaemia ≥7.8 and diabetes, corrected for potential confounders
| Outcome glucose over time | Complete analyses | Sensitivity analyses | ||
| β | 98.3% CI | β | 95% CI | |
| Current prednisone dose* | 0.00 | −0.01 to 0.01 | 0.01 | −0.01 to 0.02 |
| Any previous prednisone use* | 0.03 | −0.09 to 0.14 | −0.02 | −0.13 to 0.08 |
| Previous time on prednisone* | −0.00 | −0.01 to 0.00 | −0.00 | −0.01 to 0.00 |
| Cumulative prednisone dose* | −0.00 | −0.00 to 0.00 | −0.00 | −0.01 to 0.01 |
| Maximum previous prednisone dose* | 0.00 | −0.00 to 0.01 | −0.00 | −0.01 to 0.01 |
| Current DAS† | 0.03 | −0.01 to 0.06 | 0.08 | 0.04 to 0.12 |
| Outcome hyperglycaemia≥7.8 | Complete analyses | Sensitivity analyses | ||
| OR | 98.3% CI | OR | 95% CI | |
| Current prednisone dose* | 1.01 | 0.98 to 1.04 | 1.03 | 1.00 to 1.06 |
| Any previous prednisone use* | 1.22 | 0.90 to 1.65 | 0.89 | 0.69 to 1.14 |
| Previous time on prednisone* | 1.00 | 0.99 to 1.02 | 0.99 | 0.98 to 1.00 |
| Cumulative prednisone dose* | 1.01 | 0.99 to 1.04 | 0.99 | 0.97 to 1.00 |
| Maximum previous prednisone dose* | 1.00 | 0.99 to 1.02 | 1.00 | 0.99 to 1.01 |
| Current DAS† | 1.04 | 0.94 to 1.16 | 1.29 | 1.17 to 1.42 |
| Outcome diabetes by any definition | Complete analyses | Sensitivity analyses | ||
| HR | 98.3% CI | HR | 95% CI | |
| Current prednisone dose* | 1.07 | 0.98 to 1.16 | 1.07 | 1.00 to 1.15 |
| Any previous prednisone use* | 0.72 | 0.28 to 1.84 | 0.72 | 0.33 to 1.51 |
| Previous time on prednisone* | 0.97 | 0.91 to 1.02 | 0.97 | 0.93 to 1.01 |
| Cumulative prednisone dose* | 0.96 | 0.89 to 1.05 | 0.97 | 0.90 to 1.03 |
| Maximum previous prednisone dose* | 0.97 | 0.95 to 1.04 | 1.00 | 0.96 to 1.03 |
| Current DAS† | 1.80 | 1.19 to 2.72 | 1.80 | 1.28 to 2.53 |
Glucose over time was evaluated with mixed models, hyperglycaemia with mixed effects logistic regression and diabetes with Cox regression models over time. Sensitivity analyses were conducted in patients including only time points from a first hyperglycaemia.
Values marked in bold are statistically significant (according to the confidence interval for that test).
*Adjusted for disease activity over time, effect over time, BMI and age.
†2Adjusted for prednisone dose, effect over time, BMI, age and sex.
BMI, body mass index; DAS, Disease Activity Score.