Chinese University researchers on Wednesday urged doctors to be careful when prescribing steroids to arthritis patients after their study found the use of a specific type leads to higher risks of cardiovascular disease.

The researchers said they looked at Hospital Authority data on 12,000 rheumatoid arthritis patients and found that a daily dose of 5 milligrammes or more of glucocorticoid doubles the risk of a major cardiovascular event.

Professor Tam Lai-shan said 60 percent of rheumatoid arthritis patients rely heavily on steroids to manage the disease.

“When we give the patient the traditional disease modifying drugs, like methotrexate, it takes time to work, maybe two to three months. If the patient has high disease activity, with a lot of pain, stiffness and cannot walk, they need something to rapidly relieve their symptoms. That would be the role of steroid, as a bridging therapy,” Tam said.

The professor urged doctors to prescribe steroids with a daily dosage of less than four milligrammes for arthritis patients, or prescribe biological or targeted synthetic drugs instead.