Use of Thiazolidinediones and the Risk of Elective Hip or Knee Replacement: a Population Based Case-Control Study Yannick Nielen (1,2), Bart van den Bemt (3,4), Annelies Boonen (5), Pieter C. Dagnelie (2), Pieter Emans (6), Arief Lalmohamed (7), Anthonius de Boer (1), Frank de Vries (1,8) 1 Division of Pharmacoepidemiology & Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands. 2 Department of Epidemiology, Maastricht University, the Netherlands. 3 Department of Pharmacy, Sint Maartenskliniek, Nijmegen, Netherlands. 4 Department of Pharmacy, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. 5 Department of Rheumatology, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands. 6 Department of Orthopaedics, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands. 7 Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands. 8 Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Toxicology, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands Methods A population based case-control study was performed using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). Cases were defined as patients ≥18 years of age who had undergone TJR between 2000 and Controls were matched by age, gender and general practice. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the risk of total knee (TKR) and total hip replacement (THR) associated with use of TZDs. We additionally evaluated risk of TJR in current TZD users compared to DM patients using other antidiabetic drugs (ADs). In order to determine a dose effect relationship, we also stratified TZD users by total number of prescriptions prior to surgery. We statistically adjusted our analyses for lifestyle factors, comorbidities and concomitant drug use. Conclusion Despite promising results from in vivo studies, this study did not find an association between risk of TJR and use of TZDs. Corresponding author Frank de Vries Maastricht UMC+ Department of Clinical Pharmacy & Toxicology P.O. Box AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands Department of Epidemiology Introduction Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common musculoskeletal condition in the elderly population. However, to date, no disease modifying drug exists for this disease. In vivo animal studies have suggested that thiazolidinediones (TZDs) may be used as anti-arthritic drugs by activating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) in chondrocytes (Figure 1). To our knowledge, this has not yet been examined in humans. Objective To determine the risk of total joint replacement (TJR), as a proxy for severe OA, with the use of TZDs. Table 1 Baseline characteristics TKR patients n=89,536 (%) THR patients n=99,682 (%) CharacteristicCases n=44,768 Controls n=44,768 Cases n=49,841 Controls n=49,841 Mean age (SD) 69.5 (9.5) 68.8 (11.5) Female 24,912 (55.6) 29,724 (59.6) Mean BMI (SD) 29.7 (5.2)27.0 (5.1)27.6 (5.0)26.8 (5.0) Mean HbA1c (% (SD)) 6.9 (1.2)7.1 (1.4)6.8 (1.2)7.2 (1.4) History of drug use within 6 months before primary TJR surgery Biguanides 2,780 (6.2)2,406 (5.4)1,995 (4.0)2,388 (4.8) Sulphonylureas 1,497 (3.3)1,573 (3.5)1,206 (2.4)1,568 (3.1) Thiazolidinediones 540 (1.2)428 (1.0)311 (0.6)420 (0.8) Glinides 38 (0.1)28 (0.1)18 (0.0)26 (0.1) GLP-1 RA 53 (0.1)28 (0.1)27 (0.1)17 (0.0) DPP-4 inhibitors 93 (0.2)89 (0.2)62 (0.1)60 (0.1) Insulins 747 (1.7)825 (1.8)580 (1.2)837 (1.7) TKR= Total Knee Replacement, THR = Total Hip replacement, SD= Standard Deviation, BMI = Body Mass Index, GLP = Glucagon-like peptide, RA = Receptor Agonist, DPP = Dieptidyl Peptidase Results There was no difference in risk of TKR (OR=1.11 (95% CI= )) or THR (OR=0.87 (95% CI= )) between TZD users and patients not using TZDs. Furthermore, there was no difference in risk of TKR (OR=1.03 (95% CI= )) and THR (OR=0.90 (95% CI= )) when TZD users were compared to other AD users (Table 2). Finally, we did not find an association with prolonged use of TZDs and TJR surgery (Table 2). Table 2 Risk of TKR and THR in current TZD users compared with other AD users, by number of TZD prescriptions Figure 1. The effect of TZD on osteoarthritis through PPAR-γ activation. TZD= thiazolidinediones; MMP= matrix metalloprotease. TZD PPAR-γ Inflammation MMP Apoptosis Osteoarthritis TKR THR TZD usen=Crude OR (95% CI)Adjusted OR (95% CI) a n=Crude OR (95% CI)Adjusted OR (95% CI) b Never3111ref 2461ref Current ( )1.03 ( ) ( )0.90 ( ) By number of TZD prescriptions ever before surgery ( )1.04 ( ) ( )0.32 ( ) ( )1.45 ( ) ( )1.30 ( ) ( )1.35 ( ) ( )0.78 ( ) ( )1.00 ( ) ( )1.04 ( ) ≥ ( )0.90 ( ) ( )0.93 ( ) TZD = Thiazolidinedione, AD = antidiabetic drug, TKR = Total Knee Replacement, THR = Total Hip Replacement, OR = Odds Ratio, CI = Confidence Interval, TJR = Total Joint Replacement a) Adjusted for: Smoking status and BMI. Drug use in previous 6 months: statins, RAAS inhibitors, non-selective NSAIDs. Most recent value in previous year for HbA1c and fasting glucose. b) Adjusted for: BMI. Drug use in previous 6 months: non-selective NSAIDs and COX2-selective NSAIDs. History of retinopathy in 5 years prior to TJR. Most recent value in previous year for HbA1c. Conflict of Interest Mr. Nielen, Dr, Dagnelie, Dr. Lalmohammed, Dr. de Boer, and Dr. de Vries have nothing to disclose; Dr. van den Bemt reports grants and personal fees from Pfizer, grants and personal fees from Roche, personal fees from Abbvie, personal fees from MSD, outside the submitted work; Dr. Boonen reports grants from Abbvie, grants from Pfizer, grants from Merck, personal fees from UCB, personal fees from Sandoz, grants from Amgen, outside the submitted work; Dr. Emans reports grants from Stryker, grants from Active implants, grants from Carbylan Biosurgery, grants from DSM Biomedical, grants from Regentis, personal fees from Biomet, personal fees from Push braces, outside the submitted work.