Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Iatrogenic Cushing Syndrome

Many long-term users of glucocorticoids develop iatrogenic Cushing syndrome and morphological changes such as “moon face” and “buffalo hump.” Such changes are associated with cardiovascular risk factors including hypertension, hyperglycemia, and high LDL cholesterol levels. Investigators in the U.K. compared the incidence of adverse cardiovascular events in about 550 glucocorticoid-treated patients with diagnoses of iatrogenic Cushing syndrome, 3200 glucocorticoid-treated patients without diagnoses of Cushing syndrome, and 3300 patients without Cushing syndrome who were not prescribed glucocorticoids.

The adverse cardiovascular event incidence rate (within 1 year after diagnosis) was higher for glucocorticoid-treated patients with Cushing sy…