My low (10mg daily) dose is a necessary part of controlling the bronchial inflammations of COPD. But Every Body is different. While you question poses a good research topic, in practice the trade-off is probably worth the risk. While many have Cholesterol issues even without taking steroids regularly, this is easily corrected with common Statin medications on the market today.

The greater concern with our Steroid use has been with changes to blood sugar and kidney function levels. During an ER visit once, my glucose levels shot way out of norm due to 24hr IV drips of Solumedrol (over 200mg/day). Along with high doses of antibiotics, this is the standard way to reduce chest infections during an acute Flare-up. 🥴

It was quite the balancing act for a few days with both things going on but the breathing finally returned to normal. For some like me, I'll take the Predz any day - over being without! Your mileage may vary. be Well.

ps. If you research this deep enough you will find that Cholesterol is actually a steroid and the body uses it in a similar anti-inflammatory fashion to control hormone levels and to produce Vitamin D.

I wish there were a better one - more reliable and less heavy. But I haven’t found it