The cardiovascular effects of long-acting bronchodilators inhalers and inhaled corticosteroids purchases among asthma and COPD patients

Background: Confounding reports of cardiovascular disease (CVD) with the use of Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), long-acting beta-agonists, and muscarinic antagonists (LABA and LAMA) have been reported. Objective: To explore the relationship between the purchase of ICS, LABA and LAMA inhalers and the incidence of CVDs. Methods: This retrospective study included patients with COPD and/or asthma, aged ≥ 18 years, who purchased LABA, LAMA, and ICS inhalers alone or in combination between 2017 and 2019. We calculated the odds ratios (ORs) for CVD for patients who purchased at least one inhaler during the 12 months before the diagnosis and those without any purchase from the same inhaler group. We also analyzed the risk among asthma patients and COPD patients. Results: Of the 94,834-study population, 74,974 had asthma, 46,907 had COPD, and 27,047 had an asthma-COPD overlap. Average age was 57.9±19.7, and 44% were males. The most prominent effects of ICS were reduced risks for myocarditis (OR 0.35, 95%CI 0.14, 0.9), ischemic heart disease (IHD) (OR 0.45, 95%CI 0.41, 0.49), valvular disease (OR 0.47, 95%CI 0.39, 0.55) and hypertension (HTN) (OR 0.47, 95%CI 0.42, 0.52). LABA inhalers had a significantly lower risk for conduction disorders and arrhythmias (OR 0.71, 95%CI 0.55, 0.92), HTN (OR 0.76, 95%CI 0.63, 0.92), and cerebrovascular diseases (OR 0.83, 95%CI 0.74, 0.94). In comparison, patients with COPD had a significantly lower risk for heart failure (OR 0.62, 95%CI 0.48, 0.8). LAMA inhalers conferred a substantially lower risk of HTN (OR 0.66, 95%CI 0.57, 0.76), peripheral vascular diseases (OR 0.75, 95%CI 0.61, 0.92), IHD (OR 0.8, 95%CI 0.72, 0.89), and cerebrovascular disease (OR 0.85, 95%CI 0.78, 0.92). Conclusion: ICS inhalers were associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of CVD, with lesser but significant effects observed among those using LABA and LAMA inhalers.