Frontline: Popular Blood-Thinning Drug, Higher Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Hospitalizations for COVID-19
Study Suggests One Popular Blood-Thinning Drug Outperforms Another
People who have an abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation (A-fib) and valvular heart disease (VHD) are often prescribed anticoagulant medications, or blood thinners, in order to reduce their risks of developing blood clots, as well as preventing existing clots from growing larger. Researchers who compared outcomes among patients who took either the anticoagulant apixaban (Eliquis) or the anticoagulant rivaroxaban (Xarelto) found that people treated with apixaban had a 43 percent lower risk of a stroke (blood clot in the brain) or a systemic embolism (blood clot in the body) than those treated with rivaroxaban. They also found that people taking rivaroxaban were about twice as likely as those taking apixaban to experience internal bleeding in their gastrointestinal tracts or brains. However, overall risks associated with both medications were low, at just under 1 percent. The study was published Oct. 18, 2022, in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Eating More Processed Meat Linked with Higher Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Researchers have found that people whose diets contain more processed meats, such as bacon, sausage, ham, lunch meat, and hot dogs, are more than three times as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis (RA) than people whose diets are low in processed meats. RA is an autoimmune condition in which the body’s immune system mistakenly identifies healthy tissue as a threat and attacks it, causing joint pain and stiffness. The researchers also discovered that people whose diets were highest in fish and seafood were about 50 percent less likely to develop RA than those whose diets were lowest in seafood. No association was found between diets higher in red meat or poultry and the risk of developing RA. The study was published July 30, 2022, in the Nutrition Journal. In general, healthy dietary patterns linked with lower risks of chronic diseases are higher in seafood and plant-based foods and contain fewer highly processed foods, including processed meats and foods and beverages high in added sugars, refined flour, and/or sodium.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 Much Higher In Unvaccinated Adults
You probably know that people who got COVID-19 and did not receive a COVID-19 vaccination have been more likely to be hospitalized than people who got COVID-19 and did receive a vaccine, but the actual numbers may surprise you. Researchers who analyzed data from more than 190,000 patients who were hospitalized for COVID-19 between January 2021 and April 2022 found that rates of hospitalization were from 3.5 times to 17.7 times higher among people who were unvaccinated than rates among vaccinated people. For the period from January to April 2022, when the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was prevalent, unvaccinated people had 10.5 times higher hospitalization rates than vaccinated people who had also received a booster dose. People who had been vaccinated but had received no booster had 2.5 times higher hospitalization rates than those who received a vaccination and booster. Vaccinated people who were hospitalized were an average of 12 years older than unvaccinated people and were more likely to have three or more underlying medical conditions, such as chronic lung disease, kidney disease, obesity, or autoimmune disease. The findings were published Sept. 8, 2022, in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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