Adverse cardiovascular events in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with JAK inhibitors: An analysis of postmarketing spontaneous safety reports

Semin Arthritis Rheum 2024;67:152461 doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2024.152461 Epub ahead of print

Goldman, et al. conducted a pharmacovigilance study to evaluate the cardiovascular safety of JAK inhibitors in RA patients. The study demonstrated an increase in the reporting of VTE, stroke, and ischemic heart disease in patients treated with JAK inhibitor compared to bDMARDs, especially within the first year of treatment. This suggests a class effect of JAK inhibitors on cardiovascular risk, emphasising the need for ongoing surveillance and proactive cardiovascular risk management.

The study used the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System to compare cardiovascular adverse events among 75,407 RA patients treated with JAK inhibitors and 303,278 patients treated with bDMARDs. The analysis identified an increased adjusted reporting odds ratio for VTE, stroke, and IHD with JAK inhibitors, particularly upadacitinib and baricitinib, compared to tofacitinib.