Meloxicam and risk of myocardial infarction: a population-based nested case-control study

Certain non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI), a risk linked to cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibition. There are limited studies assessing the risk of MI associated with meloxicam, an increasingly popular drug with COX-2 inhibiting properties. A nested matched case-control study using The Health Improvement Network, a UK population-based database was conducted. NSAID users between 35 and 89 years of age with at least 1 year enrollment in the cohort were included. Incident MI cases were matched on age, sex, practice and event date with up to 4 controls. NSAID exposure was categorized as remote (between 60 days and 1 year), recent (between 1 and 60 days) or current relative to the event date. Current users were further classified as naproxen (negative control), diclofenac (positive control), meloxicam or other NSAID users. Multivariable conditional logistic regression was conducted to determine the risk of MI for each NSAID use categories compared with that of remote users. 9291 MI cases were matched with 30,676 controls. The cases had a higher prevalence of traditional cardiac risk factors, chronic kidney disease and inflammatory arthritis and cardioprotective drug utilization. The adjusted odds ratio of MI for current user compared to remote users were: meloxicam 1.38 (1.17-1.63), naproxen 1.12 (0.96-1.30) and diclofenac 1.37 (1.25-1.50). In this large population-based study, meloxicam increased the risk of MI by 38%. This study warrants cautious use of this increasingly popular drug.