Tuberculosis increases the risk of peripheral arterial disease: A nationwide population‐based study

• Published in: Respirology (Carlton, Vic.) Vic.), 2017-11, Vol.22 (8), p.1670-1676
• Main Authors: Wang, Sheng‐Huei, Chien, Wu‐Chien, Chung, Chi‐Hsiang, Lin, Fu‐Huang, Peng, Chung‐Kan, Chian, Chih‐Feng, Shen, Chih‐Hao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Age Factors; Aged; atherosclerosis; Comorbidity; Disease; Female; Health risk assessment; Humans; inflammation; Male; Middle Aged; Patients; peripheral arterial disease; Peripheral Arterial Disease - diagnosis; Peripheral Arterial Disease - epidemiology; Population studies; Population-based studies; Proportional Hazards Models; Regression analysis; Respiratory diseases; Retrospective Studies; Risk Assessment - methods; risk factor; Risk Factors; Sex; Sex Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Taiwan - epidemiology; Tuberculosis; Tuberculosis - diagnosis; Tuberculosis - epidemiology
• ISSN: 1323-7799; 1440-1843
• DOI: 10.1111/resp.13117

ABSTRACT Background and objective According to several studies, tuberculosis (TB) may be involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. However, the relationship between TB and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has not been studied. The aim of this study was to investigate whether patients with TB exhibit an increased risk of developing PAD. Methods The data assessed in this national population‐based cohort study were obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database from 2000 to 2010. Patients with newly diagnosed TB were selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD‐9‐CM) codes. The non‐TB cohort was randomly frequency‐matched to the TB cohort at a ratio of 2:1 according to age, sex and index year. Cox's proportional hazards regression models were used to analyse the risk of PAD. Results We enrolled 14 350 patients with TB and 28 700 controls in this study. The risk of PAD was 3.93‐fold higher in the patients with TB than in the non‐TB controls after adjusting for age, sex, co‐morbidities and socio‐economic status. Based on the subgroup analysis, the TB cohort exhibited an increased risk of developing PAD compared with the non‐TB cohort, regardless of age, sex, co‐morbidities and socio‐economic status. Patients with TB had a higher risk of developing PAD than healthy control subjects after 1 year of follow‐up. Conclusion Patients with TB have a significantly higher risk of developing PAD than patients without TB. TB should be considered when evaluating a patient's risk of developing PAD. This study showed that patients with tuberculosis (TB) have a significantly higher risk of developing peripheral arterial disease (PAD) than healthy control subjects. TB should be considered when evaluating a patient's risk of developing PAD.