Comorbidities of rheumatoid arthritis: Results from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

• Published in: PloS one 2017-04, Vol.12 (4), p.e0176260-e0176260
• Main Authors: Jeong, Hyemin, Baek, Sun Young, Kim, Seon Woo, Eun, Yeong Hee, Kim, In Young, Kim, Hyungjin, Lee, Jaejoon, Koh, Eun-Mi, Cha, Hoon-Suk
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abnormalities; Age; Alcohol Drinking - physiopathology; Alcohol use; Alcoholic beverages; Angina; Angina Pectoris - diagnosis; Angina Pectoris - epidemiology; Ankylosing spondylitis; Arthritis; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - diagnosis; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - epidemiology; Asthma; Atopic dermatitis; Autoimmune diseases; Biocompatibility; Biology and Life Sciences; Breast cancer; Cardiovascular diseases; Celiac disease; Census; Children; Classification; Comorbidity; Complications; Data acquisition; Data collection; Demographic variables; Depression - diagnosis; Depression - epidemiology; Dermatitis; Diabetes mellitus; Diagnosis; Disease control; Education; Epidemiology; Estimates; Female; Health risk assessment; Heart attacks; Hepatitis; Hepatitis B - diagnosis; Hepatitis B - epidemiology; Humans; Hypersensitivity; Hypertension; Immunoglobulin E; Incidence; Income; Infections; Information dissemination; Interleukin 4; Kidney transplantation; Liver; Lung diseases; Male; Malignancy; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mental disorders; Middle Aged; Mood; Myocardial infarction; Myocardial Infarction - diagnosis; Myocardial Infarction - epidemiology; Necrosis; Neurodegenerative diseases; Nutrition; Nutrition Surveys - statistics & numerical data; Odds Ratio; Older people; Population studies; Prevalence; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Retrospective Studies; Rheumatic diseases; Rheumatoid arthritis; Risk Factors; Rural areas; Smoking - physiopathology; Social Class; Stomach; Studies; Survival; Thyroid Diseases - diagnosis; Thyroid Diseases - epidemiology; Tuberculosis; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary - diagnosis; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary - epidemiology; Tumors; Urban areas; Viruses
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176260

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of comorbidities in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with the non-RA population. The 2010-2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), which assesses the general health status of populations in South Korea using interviews and basic health assessment, was analyzed retrospectively. Weighted prevalence and odds ratio (OR) of comorbidities were analyzed in patients with RA compared with the non-RA population. The overall weighted (n = 37,453,158) prevalence of RA was 1.5%. Patients with RA were older and more female predominant than subjects without RA. The prevalence of living in an urban area, college graduation, alcohol consumption and smoking was lower in patients with RA than non-RA. Patients with RA had more comorbidities including hypertension, dyslipidemia, myocardial infarction (MI) or angina, stoke, osteoarthritis, lung cancer, colon cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis, asthma, diabetes, depression, thyroid disease and chronic kidney disease. After adjusting socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics, RA was associated with an increased prevalence of MI or angina (OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.17-2.96, p = 0.009), pulmonary TB (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.24-3.09, p = 0.004), asthma (OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.05-3.71, p = 0.036), thyroid disease (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.05-2.77), depression (OR 2.38, 95% CI 1.47-3.85, p < 0.001) and hepatitis B (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.15-4.80, p = 0.020) compared with the non-RA population. Prevalence of solid cancer was not significantly associated with RA after adjustment.