Journal Article
Meta-Analysis
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Isotretinoin and risk for inflammatory bowel disease: a nested case-control study and meta-analysis of published and unpublished data.

JAMA Dermatology 2013 Februrary
OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between isotretinoin and the risk for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) among women of reproductive age.

DESIGN: Nested case-control study and meta-analysis.

SETTING: A US health claims database.

PARTICIPANTS: We formed a cohort of women aged 18 to 46 years who had received at least 1 oral contraceptive prescription from May 1, 2001, through December 31, 2009. The IBD cases were required to have 3 health care contacts with documentation of IBD or a single health care contact followed by use of a drug to treat IBD. Twenty controls were selected for each case using incidence-density sampling, matched on age and date of diagnosis.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Risk ratios (RRs) were formed for incident cases of IBD associated with the use of isotretinoin. A subgroup analysis examined the risk for IBD among those diagnosed as having Crohn disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). A meta-analysis of published and unpublished studies assessing isotretinoin and IBD used a random-effects model to estimate a pooled RR.

RESULTS: In the case-control study, we identified 2159 IBD cases (1056 with UC and 1103 with CD) and matched them with 43 180 controls. Only 10 cases (0.46%) and 191 controls (0.44%) were exposed to isotretinoin. The adjusted RR for IBD was 0.99 (95% CI, 0.52-1.90). The RRs for UC and CD were 1.10 (95% CI, 0.44-2.70) and 0.91 (0.37-2.25), respectively. For the meta-analysis, the pooled RR for IBD for the 5 studies was 0.94 (95% CI, 0.65-1.36).

CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study do not suggest an increase in the risk for IBD, including UC or CD, with use of isotretinoin. Because inflammatory acne in children and adolescents carries a high psychological burden, clinicians should not be discouraged from prescribing this drug owing to a putative association with IBD.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

Related Resources

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app