Steroids linked to diabetes, clotting, more in children

Children who take oral steroids to treat asthma or autoimmune diseases have an increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and blood clots, according to Rutgers researchers. The study, which was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, examined the records of more than 933,000 USD children from ages one to 18 with or without autoimmune diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, juvenile arthritis or psoriasis.

Among those without an autoimmune disease, about two in three children who received prescriptions for steroids had evidence of asthma. "The rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and blood clots from oral steroids have been studied in large populations of adults," said study author Daniel Horton, an assistant professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

The researchers found that children who were receiving high steroid doses experienced these complications at much higher rates than children taking low doses or who had taken steroids previously. Among the complications studied, high blood pressure occurred most commonly with steroid treatment. All of these complications were more common among children with autoimmune diseases, independent of the steroid effect.

"While children receiving high-dose steroids were at substantially higher risk for developing diabetes, high blood pressure or blood clots relative to children not taking these medicines, the absolute risks of these complications were still small," Horton said. "The vast majority of children taking brief courses of steroids for conditions such as asthma, for instance, will not experience these complications," added Horton.