Racial differences in persistent glucocorticoid use patterns among medicaid beneficiaries with incident systemic lupus erythematosus.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Glucocorticoids ("steroids") are frequently used in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Prolonged use may contribute to racial/ethnic disparities in avoidable adverse outcomes. We examined racial/ethnic differences in longitudinal patterns of steroid use and dose.

Methods

We identified Medicaid beneficiaries 18-65 years with incident SLE who received steroids for 12 months following the index date. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify patterns of daily prednisone-equivalent steroid doses. We examined demographic, clinical and healthcare utilization factors during the baseline period and used multinomial logistic regression to estimate the odds of belonging to the higher vs. lowest steroid dose trajectories over time.

Results

We identified 631

SUBMITTER: Chandler MT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9976620 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature