Risk of Rhabdomyolysis from 5-Alpha Reductase Inhibitors
January 2018
in “
Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety
”
Studysummary In this study, 5-α reductase inhibitors were not significantly linked to increased rhabdomyolysis risk, but they may raise the risk of myopathy and myositis in men aged 66 and older. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
In a study of 93,197 men aged 66 years or older in Ontario, Canada, researchers found that the initiation of 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5ARIs) was not significantly associated with an increased risk of rhabdomyolysis, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.21 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.00-1.48. However, the study did reveal that men had an elevated risk of rhabdomyolysis before starting 5ARI medication (HR 1.31, 95% CI, 1.05-1.64). Additionally, the use of 5ARIs was significantly associated with a higher risk of myositis and myopathy (HR 1.63, 95% CI, 1.48-1.80). The study was limited by its inability to confirm rhabdomyolysis through laboratory tests and did not include younger men using 5ARIs for androgenic alopecia. The research was ethically approved and supported by grants, including one from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, with no conflicts of interest reported by the authors.
