Key clinical point: Methotrexate reduced the risk for overall mortality in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) , particularly mortality from RA with cardiovascular diseases and RA-associated interstitial lung diseases .
Major finding: Methotrexate significantly reduced risk for overall mortality by 41% (hazard ratio [HR] 0.59; P < .001), mortality from RA with cardiovascular disease by 28% (HR 0.72; P = .031), and mortality from RA-associated interstitial lung diseases by 56% (HR 0.44; P = .037).
Study details: Findings are from a meta-analysis of 15 cohort studies involving 69,914 participants.
Disclosures: The study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and others. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Xu J et al. Methotrexate use reduces mortality risk in rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2022;55:152031 (Jun 4). Doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2022.152031