Risk of herpes zoster in psoriasis patients receiving systemic therapies: a nationwide population-based cohort study

AbstractThe incidence of herpes zoster in psoriasis patients is higher than in the general population. However, the association between herpes zoster risk and different systemic therapies, especially biologic agents, remains controversial. This study investigated the association between herpes zoster risk and several systemic antipsoriasis therapies. This prospective open cohort study was conducted using retrospectively collected data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. We included 92,374 patients with newly diagnosed psoriasis between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2013. The exposure of interest was the “on-treatment” effect of systemic antipsoriasis therapies documented by each person-quarter. The outcome was the occurrence of newly diagnosed herpes zoster. During a mean follow-up of 6.8 years, 4834 (5.2%) patients were diagnosed with herpes zoster after the index date. Among the systemic antipsoriasis therapies, etanercept (hazard ratio [HR] 4.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.51–15.17), adalimumab (HR 5.52, 95% CI 1.72–17.71), and methotrexate plus azathioprine (HR 4.17, 95% CI 1.78–9.82) were significantly associated with an increased risk of herpes zoster. By contrast, phototherapy (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.60–0.96) and acitretin (HR 0.39, 95% CI 0.24–0.64) were associated with a reduced risk of herpes zoster. Overall, this study identified an association of both etanercept and adalimumab with an increased risk of herpes zoster among psoriasis patients. Acitretin and phototherapy were associated with a reduced risk.

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To Investigate the Risk of Herpes Zoster in Women With Endometriosis: A Taiwan National Population-Based Cohort Study

Frontiers in Medicine ◽

10.3389/fmed.2021.584322 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Chao-Yu Hsu ◽

Der-Shin Ke ◽

Cheng-Li Lin ◽

Chia-Hung Kao

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Herpes Zoster ◽

Ethnic Differences ◽

Population Based ◽

Research Database ◽

Newly Diagnosed ◽

Loss To Follow Up ◽

Taiwanese Women ◽

Taiwan National Health Insurance

Background: The objective of this study is to investigate the occurrence of herpes zoster (HZ) in patients with endometriosis.Methods: This retrospective population-based cohort study was conducted using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Between 2000 and 2012, women aged ≥20 years with newly diagnosed endometriosis were enrolled into the endometriosis group. Each patient with endometriosis was randomly matched to 4 controls according to age and index year. All the patients were traced from the index date to HZ diagnosis, loss to follow-up, death, or the end of December 2013.Results: In total, 19,147 patients with newly diagnosed endometriosis and 76,588 participants without endometriosis were enrolled. The incidence of HZ was higher in endometriosis persons (5.36 per 1,000 person-years) than in matched controls (4.43 per 1,000 person-years) (p < 0.001). After adjustment for age and comorbidities, patients with endometriosis age ≤ 49 years (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.17) (p < 0.001) and 50–64 years (aHR = 1.27) (p < 0.05) showed significantly higher risk of HZ than the corresponding controls. Among women without any comorbidities, patients with endometriosis were 1.22 times (p < 0.001) more likely to have HZ than those without endometriosis.Conclusion: Taiwanese women with endometriosis may have a higher rate of HZ occurrence. Endometriosis seems to be a high burden for affected women. Therefore, we suggest that clinicians should be aware of HZ among women with endometriosis, although there may be ethnic differences.

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Chronic Pain Increases the Risk of Dementia: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

January 2018 - Pain Physician ◽

10.36076/ppj.2021.24.e849 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 (6) ◽

pp. E849-E856

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Population Based ◽

Study Cohort ◽

Research Database ◽

Age Group ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Taiwan National Health Insurance ◽

The Impact

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain (CP) may increase the risk of cognitive impairment; however, the association between CP and dementia is still unclear. OBJECTIVES: Therefore, we conducted this study to clarify the association between CP and dementia. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTINGS: Nationwide population based. METHODS: This study recruited 27,792 patients (>= 50 years) with CP from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2015, as the study cohort. The comparison cohort consists of patients without CP who were matched 1:1 for age, gender, and index date with the study cohort. A comparison of the risk of dementia between the two cohorts was performed by following up until 2015. RESULTS: The prevalence of CP was 13.4% in the population aged >= 50 years. Patients with CP had a higher risk of dementia than those without CP (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR]: 1.21; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15-1.26). Compared with the other age subgroups, the 50-64 years age group with CP had the highest risk of dementia (AHR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.14-1.43). The impact of CP on the increased risk of dementia was more prominent in the younger age subgroup and decreased with aging. The increased risk of dementia in patients with CP was persistent, even following up for more than 5 years (AHR: 1.19; 95% CI: 1.12-1.26). LIMITATIONS: Using “analgesics use at least 3 months” as the surrogate criteria of CP may underestimate the diagnosis of CP. CONCLUSIONS: CP was associated with a higher risk of dementia, especially in the 50-64 years age group. Early treatment of CP for the prevention of dementia is suggested. KEY WORDS: Chronic pain. cognitive impairment, dementia

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Association between de Quervain syndrome and herpes zoster: a population-based cohort study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046891 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. e046891

Author(s):

Chao-Yu Hsu ◽

Der-Shin Ke ◽

Cheng-Li Lin ◽

Chia-Hung Kao

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Health Insurance ◽

Herpes Zoster ◽

National Health Insurance ◽

National Health ◽

Population Based ◽

Control Group ◽

Research Database ◽

Increased Risk ◽

De Quervain

ObjectiveBoth physical diseases such as infection and chronic pain and psychological disorders such as depression have been associated with herpes zoster (HZ) reactivation. However, the relationship between de Quervain syndrome (DQS), a painful tenosynovitis and HZ remains unclear. We investigated whether DQS increases the risk of HZ reactivation.DesignA retrospective population-based cohort study.SettingTaiwan.ParticipantsWe used a subset of Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database, the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database which contains the registration files and original claims data of 1 million randomly selected individuals from the National Health Insurance programme. The case group in this study comprised patients newly diagnosed with DQS between 2000 and 2012. Individuals without DQS comprised the control group. Cases and controls were 1:1 matched by age, sex and index year (defined as the year of DQS diagnosis).ResultsApproximately 55% of the participants were ≤49 years. Most participants were women (77%). The incidence rate of HZ in the DQS group was 8.39 per 1000 person years. After adjustments for age, sex and comorbidities, patients with DQS had a 1.30 times higher risk of HZ reactivation than the control group. Stratification analysis revealed taht DQS increases the HZ risk in individuals ≤64 years, women, and patients without comorbidities.ConclusionDQS is associated with an increased risk of HZ. Clinicians should be aware of this risk when dealing with patients with DQS, particularly in young adults.

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Increased non-typhoidal Salmonella hospitalizations in transfusion-naïve thalassemia children: a nationwide population-based cohort study

Pediatric Research ◽

10.1038/s41390-021-01602-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Fang-Ju Lin ◽

Jiunn-Ming Sheen ◽

Yao-Hsu Yang ◽

Kuang-Che Kuo

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Population Based ◽

List Type ◽

Research Database ◽

Thalassemia Patient ◽

Urbanization Level ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Taiwan National Health Insurance ◽

History Of

Abstract Introduction Although non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) infection usually causes self-limited enterocolitis, several risk factors have been found to predispose individuals to more severe NTS infections. However, few studies have discussed the association between NTS infection and pediatric thalassemia populations. Material and methods A nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study was conducted using medical records of the selected children from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Immunocompromised individuals or patients with a history of transfusion or splenectomy were excluded. One thalassemia patient was matched with four non-thalassemia patients based on their year of birth, sex, and urbanization level. Results In this cohort, 912 patients with thalassemia and 3648 comparison cohort were analyzed. The mean age of NTS hospitalization was 2.0 ± 1.4 in thalassemia cohort and 2.6 ± 2.4 in non-thalassemia cohort. Transfusion-naïve thalassemia children were proved to have a higher rate of NTS hospitalization (6.90 vs 4.11 per 1000 person-year; p = 0.0004) than the non-thalassemia cohort, with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.68 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.26–2.24). Conclusion Our research shows that transfusion-naïve thalassemia is associated with an increased risk of NTS hospitalization. Further prospective study comparing the incidence and severity of NTS infection among children with and without thalassemia is needed. Impact Pediatric transfusion-naïve thalassemia patients have an 1.68-fold increased risk for hospitalization due to non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) infection. This is the first nationwide population-based cohort study based on an extremely large database that shows pediatric transfusion-naïve thalassemia patients have an increased risk for NTS hospitalizations. Besides the previously known risk factors such as extremes of age, sickle cell disease, or immunosuppressing conditions, clinicians must also take thalassemia as a possible risk factor for more severe NTS disease.

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Risk of Seizures in Patients with Organophosphate Poisoning: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16173147 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (17) ◽

pp. 3147 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Chieh-Sen Chuang ◽

Kai-Wei Yang ◽

Chia-Ming Yen ◽

Cheng-Li Lin ◽

Chia-Hung Kao

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Population Based ◽

Organophosphate Poisoning ◽

Research Database ◽

Population Based Study ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Taiwan National Health Insurance ◽

History Of

Objective: Previous research has demonstrated that patients with a history of organophosphate poisoning tend to have a higher risk of neurological disorder. However, research on the rate of seizure development in patients after organophosphate poisoning is lacking. This study examined whether individuals with organophosphate poisoning have an increased risk of seizures through several years of follow-up. Patients and Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on a cohort of 45,060 individuals (9012 patients with a history of organophosphate poisoning and 36,048 controls) selected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. The individuals were observed for a maximum of 12 years to determine the rate of new-onset seizure disorder. We selected a comparison cohort from the general population that was randomly frequency-matched by age, sex, and index year and further analyzed the risk of seizures using a Cox regression model adjusted for sex, age, and comorbidities. Results: During the study period, the risk of seizure development was 3.57 times greater in patients with organophosphate poisoning compared with individuals without, after adjustments for age, sex, and comorbidities. The absolute incidence of seizures was highest in individuals aged 20 to 34 years in both cohorts (adjusted hazard ratio = 13.0, 95% confidence interval = 5.40−31.4). A significantly higher seizure risk was also observed in patients with organophosphate poisoning and comorbidities other than cirrhosis. Conclusions: This nationwide retrospective cohort study demonstrates that seizure risk is significantly increased in patients with organophosphate poisoning compared with the general population.

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Association between Chronic Interstitial Cystitis and Herpes Zoster

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17072228 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (7) ◽

pp. 2228 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Chao-Yu Hsu ◽

Cheng-Li Lin ◽

Chia-Hung Kao

Keyword(s):

Health Insurance ◽

Herpes Zoster ◽

Interstitial Cystitis ◽

Research Database ◽

Newly Diagnosed ◽

Loss To Follow Up ◽

Taiwan National Health Insurance ◽

The Relationship ◽

Insurance Database

Objectives: Herpes zoster (HZ) infection has been associated with disease burdens such as infection and depression. However, the relationship between chronic interstitial cystitis (CIC) and HZ is unknown. This study investigated HZ risk in patients with CIC. Patients and Methods: The Longitudinal Health Insurance Database, which is a subset of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, was used in the study. The case cohort consisted of patients with newly diagnosed CIC between 2000 and 2012. Each patient with CIC was matched to four controls by age and index year. All participants were traced from the index date to HZ diagnosis, and loss to follow-up or death, or to the end of the study (31 December 2013). Results: A total of 1096 patients with CIC and 4384 controls were enrolled. The incidence rate of HZ in patients with CIC was 10.8 per 1000 person-years, whereas that for controls was 7.25 per 1000 person-years. HZ risk for the case cohort was 1.48 times that for the control cohort. Among participants aged ≤49 years, patients with CIC had a 1.91-fold-increased HZ risk compared to those without CIC. Conclusion: Patients with CIC had a higher risk of HZ than those without CIC. CIC should not be ignored, particularly in young adults.

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The Risks for Ovarian, Endometrial, Breast, Colorectal, and Other Cancers in Women With Newly Diagnosed Endometriosis or Adenomyosis: A Population-Based Study

International Journal of Gynecological Cancer ◽

10.1097/igc.0000000000000454 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 25 (6) ◽

pp. 968-976 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

Victor C. Kok ◽

Horng-Jyh Tsai ◽

Chi-Feng Su ◽

Chien-Kuan Lee

Keyword(s):

Health Insurance ◽

Population Based ◽

Hazard Ratio ◽

Adjusted Hazard Ratio ◽

Research Database ◽

Newly Diagnosed ◽

Ovarian Endometriosis ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Comparison Cohort

ObjectiveRecent studies report a link between endometriosis and ovarian cancer (OC). Using a population-based cohort study to confirm the association between endometriosis and cancer is desirable. We thus examined the magnitude of the risks of OC, endometrial cancer (EC), breast cancer, colorectal cancer (CRC), and other cancers in women with newly diagnosed endometriosis or adenomyosis (internal endometriosis).Methods/MaterialsWomen older than 20 years with claims data between 2003 and 2005 were identified from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Dataset containing 1 million individuals randomly sampled from the National Health Insurance Research Database. Those with preexisting malignancies, hysterectomy, or oophorectomy were excluded. The endometriosis cohort (n = 2266, including 768 cases of pure adenomyosis) and comparison cohort (n = 9064), formed by 1:4 matching, were followed up until incidence cancer, dropout, or December 31, 2008. Outcome measures included cancer incidence and adjusted hazard ratio by Cox model adjusted for age group, comorbidities, and endometriosis medication use.ResultsWith 9842 person-years of follow-up in endometriosis cohort and 36,274 person-years of follow-up in comparison cohort, there were increased risks of all cancers (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.4–2.4), OC (4.56, 1.72–12.11), and EC (4.05, 1.20–13.66). The ovarian endometriosis group was associated with increased risk of subsequent OC (4.37, 1.07–17.83). The adenomyosis group was strongly associated with both OC (5.50, 1.95–15.50) and EC (5.13, 1.36–19.40). Increased risk of subsequent CRC was observed in women with adenomyosis with coexistent endometriosis at other sites (13.04, 2.21–77.04). However, no statistically significant increased risk of breast or other cancers was observed.ConclusionsHaving limitations such as lacking of parity information which may affect the magnitude of risk estimates, this study demonstrates that ovarian endometriosis has a 4-fold increased risk of OC. Adenomyosis may associate with a 4- to 5-fold increased risk of OC and EC, and unexpectedly, a 13-fold increased risk of CRC.

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Association between benzodiazepine use and risks of chronic-onset poststroke pneumonia: a population-based cohort study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024180 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. e024180 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shu-Man Lin ◽

Shih-Hsien Yang ◽

Chung-Chao Liang ◽

Huei-Kai Huang ◽

Ching-Hui Loh

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Population Based ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Research Database ◽

Defined Daily Doses ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Benzodiazepine Use ◽

Age And Sex

ObjectivesTo investigate the association between benzodiazepine (BZD) use and the risk of chronic-onset poststroke pneumonia.DesignPopulation-based propensity-matched retrospective cohort study.SettingTaiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database.ParticipantsPatients newly diagnosed with stroke between 2000 and 2012 were identified and, after propensity score matching, 7516 patients were enrolled. Among these, 3758 patients received BZDs after stroke while 3758 did not.Outcome measuresHRs for developing pneumonia over 1 month after stroke according to BZD use were assessed using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Analyses according to cumulative defined daily doses (cDDDs) of BZDs and stratification for age and sex were also performed.ResultsDuring a mean follow-up time of 4.4 years, 1027 patients in the BZD cohort and 478 patients in the non-BZD cohort developed pneumonia over 1 month after stroke. Patients using BZDs after stroke had a higher pneumonia risk than did those not using BZDs (52.2vs32.6 per 1000 person-years, adjusted HR (aHR)=2.21, 95% CI (CI)=1.97 to 2.48, p<0.001). Analyses based on cumulative BZD dose revealed that all BZD user subgroups were associated with a higher risk of pneumonia. The aHRs for patients taking 1–90, 91–365 and >365 cDDDs of BZDs were 2.28 (95% CI=2.01 to 2.58; p<0.001), 2.09 (95% CI=1.77 to 2.47; p<0.001) and 2.08 (95% CI=1.72 to 2.52; p<0.001), respectively. The significant association between BZD use and increased pneumonia risk persisted even after stratifying subgroups by age and sex.ConclusionsBZD use is associated with an increased risk of chronic-onset poststroke pneumonia.

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The Association between Migraine and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18084389 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (8) ◽

pp. 4389

Author(s):

Jou-Yu Lin ◽

Che-Se Tung ◽

Jen-Chun Wang ◽

Wu-Chien Chien ◽

Chi-Hsiang Chung ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Retrospective Cohort ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Cumulative Risk ◽

Population Based ◽

Aortic Aneurysms ◽

Research Database ◽

Abdominal Aortic ◽

Increased Risk

Previous studies have indicated that patients with migraine have a higher prevalence of risk factors known to be associated with cardiovascular diseases. There are also shared epidemiology and molecular mechanisms between migraine and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). We hypothesized that patients with migraine could have an increased risk of AAA. To test this hypothesis, we used the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) to evaluate whether associations exist between migraine and AAA. The data for this nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study were obtained from the NHIRD in Taiwan. The assessed study outcome was the cumulative incidence of AAA in patients with migraine during a 15-year follow-up period. Among the 1,936,512 patients from the NHIRD, 53,668 (2.77%) patients were identified as having been diagnosed with migraine. The patients with migraine had a significantly higher cumulative risk of 3.558 of developing an AAA 5 years after the index date compared with the patients without migraine. At the end of the 15-year follow-up period, a significantly higher incidence of AAA (0.98%) was observed in the patients with migraine than in those without migraine (0.24%). We revealed an association between the development of migraine and AAA.

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Dietary Micronutrients and Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease: A Cohort Study with 12 Year Follow-Up

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13051517 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 1517

Author(s):

Juyeon Lee ◽

Kook-Hwan Oh ◽

Sue-Kyung Park

Keyword(s):

Chronic Kidney Disease ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Kidney Disease ◽

Epidemiologic Study ◽

Population Based ◽

Dietary Guidelines ◽

Dietary Intakes ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Ckd Stage

We investigated the association between dietary micronutrient intakes and the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the Ansan-Ansung study of the Korean Genome and Epidemiologic Study (KoGES), a population-based prospective cohort study. Of 9079 cohort participants with a baseline estimate glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2 and a urine albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR) <300 mg/g and who were not diagnosed with CKD, we ascertained 1392 new CKD cases over 12 year follow-up periods. The risk of CKD according to dietary micronutrient intakes was presented using hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) in a full multivariable Cox proportional hazard models, adjusted for multiple micronutrients and important clinico-epidemiological risk factors. Low dietary intakes of phosphorus (<400 mg/day), vitamin B2 (<0.7 mg/day) and high dietary intake of vitamin B6 (≥1.6 mg/day) and C (≥100 mg/day) were associated with an increased risk of CKD stage 3B and over, compared with the intake at recommended levels (HR = 6.78 [95%CI = 2.18–21.11]; HR = 2.90 [95%CI = 1.01–8.33]; HR = 2.71 [95%CI = 1.26–5.81]; HR = 1.83 [95%CI = 1.00–3.33], respectively). In the restricted population, excluding new CKD cases defined within 2 years, an additional association with low folate levels (<100 µg/day) in higher risk of CKD stage 3B and over was observed (HR = 6.72 [95%CI = 1.40–32.16]). None of the micronutrients showed a significant association with the risk of developing CKD stage 3A. Adequate intake of micronutrients may lower the risk of CKD stage 3B and over, suggesting that dietary guidelines are needed in the general population to prevent CKD.

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