A recent study is drawing attention, as it said the long-term use of ibuprofen and naproxen, if anything, deteriorated joint inflammation and cartilage quality.

The Radiological Society of North America recently foresaw major research results ahead of its academic conference, RSNA 2022. Among them is the clinical trial result of the long-term use of ibuprofen and naproxen conducted by Dr. Johanna Luitjens of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

RSNA 2022 will be held in Chicago from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1

The study was conducted on patients with moderate to severe osteoarthritis who have continued treatment with ibuprofen and naproxen for at least a year during the four-year monitoring period. Evaluation variables included cartilage thickness, composition, and MRI measurement.

The research found no advantages to using ibuprofen and naproxen for a long time. It confirmed that the joint inflammation and cartilage quality of patients who used ibuprofen and naproxen were poorer than the control group, and their osteoarthritis aggravated further.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are commonly prescribed for osteoarthritis pain. However, there have not been many studies on these drugs' long-term effects on the disease’s progress.

“The study has confirmed that ibuprofen and naproxen have no mechanism that slows down the progress of osteoarthritis in knee joints,” Dr. Luitzens said. “Considering that ibuprofen and naproxen have been used on osteoarthritis patients in the name of anti-inflammatory function over the past several years, medical professionals must reconsider their administration and prescription.”

Another safety study on the safety of ibuprofen and naproxen has been released recently, backing up the research result of Dr. Luitjen’s team. Viatris unveiled the result of its PRECISION-Renal study that compared the kidney incidence and cardiovascular safety among celecoxib (Celebrex Cap.), ibuprofen, and naproxen and found that celecoxib reduced risk by 33 percent against ibuprofen, and by 21 percent against naproxen.

The study was published in the European Society for Cardiology (ESC) academic journal in March.

The PRECISION-Renal study analyzed patients intending to treat and found that celecoxib’s occurrence rate of clinically significant kidney incidences was significantly lower than ibuprofen. Celecoxib showed little difference of significance with naproxen.

Celebrex Cap.’s risk of primary cardiac and renal complex results was 33 percent lower than ibuprofen and 21 percent lower than naproxen.

In the analysis of patients who completed treatment, celecoxib’s occurrence rate of clinically significant kidney incidence was significantly lower than ibuprofen and naproxen. In addition, celecoxib’s risk of primary cardiac and renal complex results was significantly lower than ibuprofen and naproxen.