Decreased prevalence of new-onset adhesive capsulitis in patients prescribed angiotensin receptor blockers

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Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are commonly prescribed antihypertensive agents that have well-known antifibrotic properties. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between ARB use and the rates of new-onset adhesive capsulitis as well as adhesive capsulitis requiring operative treatment. Using a large national insurance database, a randomly generated cohort of patients with at least 3 continuous months of ARB use between January 2010 and December 2019 (n=1,000,000) was compared to a separate randomly generated cohort without ARB use (n=3,000,000). Rates of newly diagnosed adhesive capsulitis and associated manipulation under anesthesia (MUA) and/or arthroscopic capsulotomy were calculated over a 1- and 2-year period following the completion of at least 3 continuous months of ARB therapy. Rates were compared using multivariable logistic regression to control for demographics and comorbidities. Both unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated and reported for each comparison. Statistical significance was set at P<.05. The mean age in the ARB cohort was 61.8 years (standard deviation [SD]=10.0), whereas in the control cohort, it was 54.8 years (SD=12.3) (P<.001). The ARB cohort had significantly lower rates of newly diagnosed adhesive capsulitis compared with the control cohort at both 1 year (0.15% vs. 0.55%, P<.001) and 2 years (0.3% vs. 0.78%, P<.001). Similar findings were observed for the arthroscopic capsular release/MUA cohort associated with adhesive capsulitis. After adjusting for confounding factors, the lower rates of adhesive capsulitis and arthroscopic capsular release/MUA associated with adhesive capsulitis in the ARB cohort remained statistically significant (P<.001). Patients prescribed ARBs experienced a decreased rate of newly diagnosed adhesive capsulitis, as well as adhesive capsulitis requiring surgical intervention when compared to a control cohort. These findings suggest a potential protective effect of ARBs against the development of adhesive capsulitis. Further investigations are warranted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and establish a causal relationship.