scholarly journals Association Between Use of Anti-gout Preparations and Dementia: Nested Case–Control Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsung-Ju Chuang ◽  
Yu-Hsun Wang ◽  
James Cheng-Chung Wei ◽  
Chih-Jung Yeh

Objectives: Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis and was found to be independently associated with incident dementia in the elderly. However, the associations between anti-gout preparations and dementia were not well-studied.Methods: Data were collected from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). A 2005–2013 retrospective cohort study was conducted, and all investigated subjects were identified by International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification. Conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the odds ratio of dementia in relation to different gout preparations (benzbromarone, allopurinol, sulfinpyrazone, probenecid) and number of days of anti-gout preparation use, after adjustment for potential confounding variables.Results: A total of 3,242 gout patients with and without dementia were selected from the NHIRD and included in the final analysis after 1:1 matching for age, gender, and diagnosis year of gout. In the anti-gout preparations, only use of Benzbromarone decreased the risk of dementia (adjusted OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.68–0.97). The result of the subgroup analysis revealed a trend toward a lower risk of dementia with longer use of benzbromarone. Use of benzbromarone for ≥180 days showed a significantly lower risk of dementia (adjusted OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.58–0.89). Moreover, the protective effect was more pronounced in males compared with females.Conclusion: This cohort study reveals that gout patients taking benzbromarone are at a decreased risk of developing incident dementia, especially with longer use and in male. Further prospective trials are warranted to confirm our findings.

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (9) ◽  
pp. 1068-1078 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Nanwa ◽  
Jeffrey C. Kwong ◽  
Murray Krahn ◽  
Nick Daneman ◽  
Hong Lu ◽  
...  

BACKGROUNDHigh-quality cost estimates for hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) are vital evidence for healthcare policy and decision-making.OBJECTIVETo evaluate the costs attributable to hospital-acquired CDI from the healthcare payer perspective.METHODSWe conducted a population-based propensity-score matched cohort study of incident hospitalized subjects diagnosed with CDI (those with the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision, Canada code A04.7) from January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2010, in Ontario, Canada. Infected subjects were matched to uninfected subjects (those without the code A04.7) on age, sex, comorbidities, geography, and other variables, and followed up through December 31, 2011. We stratified results by elective and nonelective admissions. The main study outcomes were up-to-3-year costs, which were evaluated in 2014 Canadian dollars.RESULTSWe identified 28,308 infected subjects (mean annual incidence, 27.9 per 100,000 population, 3.3 per 1,000 admissions), with a mean age of 71.5 years (range, 0–107 years), 54.0% female, and 8.0% elective admissions. For elective admission subjects, cumulative mean attributable 1-, 2-, and 3-year costs adjusted for survival (undiscounted) were $32,151 (95% CI, $28,192–$36,005), $34,843 ($29,298–$40,027), and $37,171 ($30,364–$43,415), respectively. For nonelective admission subjects, the corresponding costs were $21,909 ($21,221–$22,609), $26,074 ($25,180–$27,014), and $29,944 ($28,873–$31,086), respectively.CONCLUSIONSHospital-acquired CDI is associated with substantial healthcare costs. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first CDI costing study to present longitudinal costs. New strategies may be warranted to mitigate this costly infectious disease.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;37:1068–1078


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huei-Kai Huang ◽  
Jen-Hung Wang ◽  
Sheng-Lun Kao

Abstract Background Hypothyroidism has a detrimental effect on the immune system, which may predispose patients to infection. However, evidence about the risk of developing either community- or hospital-acquired pneumonia in patients with hypothyroidism is scarce. Objective To evaluate the association between hypothyroidism and the risk of developing pneumonia. Methods This was a retrospective population-based cohort study from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database. After 1:1 propensity score matching, 9749 patients (age ≥20 years) newly diagnosed with hypothyroidism between 2001 and 2014 and 9749 patients without hypothyroidism or other thyroid diseases were included in the hypothyroidism and non-hypothyroidism cohorts, respectively, and followed up until 2015. The development of pneumonia was defined as the primary outcome. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to calculate the hazard ratios (HRs) of developing pneumonia between hypothyroidism and non-hypothyroidism cohorts after adjusting for age, sex and baseline comorbidities. To evaluate whether thyroxine replacement therapy (TRT) modified the risk for pneumonia, we divided patients with hypothyroidism into subgroups: patients who received TRT and those who did not. Results Hypothyroidism was associated with a higher risk of pneumonia [adjusted HR (aHR) 1.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29–1.49, P < 0.001]. Patients with hypothyroidism who received TRT had a lower risk of pneumonia than patients who did not (aHR 0.85, 95% CI 0.76–0.93, P = 0.001). Similar results were obtained in the age- and sex-stratified analyses. Conclusions Clinically diagnosed hypothyroidism was independently associated with the risk of pneumonia. In patients with hypothyroidism, TRT was associated with a lower risk of pneumonia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin‐Yi Hsu ◽  
Peter Pin‐Sung Liu ◽  
An‐Bang Liu ◽  
Shu‐Man Lin ◽  
Huei‐Kai Huang ◽  
...  

Background A higher risk of developing dementia is observed in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Results are inconsistent regarding the risk of dementia when patients with AF use different anticoagulants. We aimed to investigate the risk of dementia in patients with AF receiving non‐vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) compared with those receiving warfarin. Methods and Results We conducted a nationwide population‐based cohort study of incident cases using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. We initially enlisted all incident cases of AF and then selected those treated with either NOACs or warfarin for at least 90 days between 2012 and 2016. First‐ever diagnosis of dementia was the primary outcome. We performed propensity score matching to minimize the difference between each cohort. We used the Fine and Gray competing risk regression model to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) for dementia. We recruited 12 068 patients with AF (6034 patients in each cohort). The mean follow‐up time was 3.27 and 3.08 years in the groups using NOACs and warfarin, respectively. Compared with the HR for the group using warfarin, the HR for dementia was 0.82 (95% CI, 0.73–0.92; P =0.0004) in the group using NOACs. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that users of NOAC aged 65 to 74 years, with a high risk of stroke or bleeding were associated with a lower risk of dementia than users of warfarin with similar characteristics. Conclusions Patients with AF using NOACs were associated with a lower risk of dementia than those using warfarin. Further randomized clinical trials are greatly needed to prove these findings.


Vaccines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Chia Chang ◽  
Ho-Jui Tung ◽  
Yu-Tung Huang ◽  
Chin-Te Lu ◽  
Ernawaty Ernawaty ◽  
...  

Purpose: The effects of influenza vaccines are unclear for elderly individuals with disabilities. We use a population-based cohort study to estimate the effects of influenza vaccines in elderly individuals with and without disabilities. Methods: Data were taken from the National Health Insurance Research Database and Disabled Population Profile of Taiwan. A total of 2,741,403 adults aged 65 or older were identified and 394,490 were people with a disability. These two groups were further divided into those who had or had not received an influenza vaccine. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to compare the relative risks (RRs) of death and hospitalization across the four groups. Results: 30.78% elderly individuals without a disability and 34.59% elderly individuals with a disability had vaccinated for influenza. Compared to the unvaccinated elderly without a disability, the vaccinated elderly without a disability had significantly lower risks in all-cause mortality (RR = 0.64) and hospitalization for any of the influenza-related diseases (RR = 0.91). Both the unvaccinated and vaccinated elderly with a disability had significantly higher risks in all-cause mortality (RR = 1.81 and 1.18, respectively) and hospitalization for any of the influenza-related diseases (RR = 1.73 and 1.59, respectively). Conclusions: The elderly with a disability had higher risks in mortality and hospitalization than those without a disability; however, receiving influenza vaccinations could still generate more protection to the disabled elderly.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 268-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei-Che Chiu ◽  
Mong-Liang Lu ◽  
Cheng-Chen Chang

Objective This study investigates the association between mental disorders and interferon nontreatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in a large national sample.Methods Using the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan, we conducted a nationwide population-based study. Each case was matched to five controls by age, sex, urbanization, and income. Conditional logistic regression was used to assess odds of HCV nontreatment in different mental disorders.Results From 1999 to 2013, we identified 92,970 subjects with HCV infection and 15,495 HCV cases (16.7%) had received IFN therapy. Other than chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the medical diseases and mental disorders were significantly different between IFN and non-IFN treated HCV patients. After adjusting for medical diseases, depressive disorder and anxiety disorder was positively associated with receiving IFN therapy. Patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorders and alcohol use disorders were significantly less likely to receive interferon. Antidepressant exposure (cumulative daily exposure or cumulative daily dose) was associated with lower odds of IFN treatment.Conclusion Our nationwide cohort study demonstrated that INF nontreatment rate was lower in certain mental disorders. Antidepressant exposure might lower the chance of receiving IFN treatment. Our results may help to identify and to overcome the obstacles for HCV treatment and further apply to DAAs regimen.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsun Ou ◽  
Wu-Chien Chien ◽  
Chi-Hsiang Chung ◽  
Hsin-An Chang ◽  
Yu-Chen Kao ◽  
...  

Background:Chlamydia pneumoniae (CPn) is a common community-acquired pneumonia. In the literature, CPn infection is demonstrated to exhibit an association with Alzheimer dementia (AD). We executed the present nationwide, population-based research with the goal of probing the association of CPn infection and antibiotic therapy with AD risk.Methods: We conducted a cohort study using a database extracted from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). All medical conditions for each enrolled individuals were categorized using the International Classification of Diseases, ninth Revision classifications. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between CPn pneumonia-associated hospitalizations and AD were estimated using Fine and Gray's survival analysis and adjusted for comorbidities. The effects of the antibiotics on the HRs for AD in the patients with CPn pneumonia-associated hospitalization were also analyzed.Results: Our analyses included 6,628 individuals, including 1,657 CPn-infected patients, as well as 4,971 controls matched by age, index date, and sex (1:3). In this study, patients hospitalized for CPn pneumonia exhibited a significantly higher AD risk (adjusted HR = 1.599, 95% CI = 1.284–1.971, p < 0.001). We also noted an association of macrolide use (≥15 days) and fluoroquinolone use (≥15 days) with decreased AD risk.Conclusions: We determined CPn pneumonia to be associated with a relatively high AD risk. The result in this study confirmed the findings from previous literatures, by using a large, nationwide, population-based database. Appropriate macrolide and fluoroquinolone treatment may attenuate this risk.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Angelina R. Sutin ◽  
Damaris Aschwanden ◽  
Martina Luchetti ◽  
Yannick Stephan ◽  
Antonio Terracciano

Background: A sense of purpose in life has been associated with healthier cognitive outcomes across adulthood, including risk of dementia. The robustness and replicability of this association, however, has yet to be evaluated systematically. Objective: To test whether a greater sense of purpose in life is associated with lower risk of dementia in four population-based cohorts and combined with the published literature. Methods: Random-effect meta-analysis of prospective studies (individual participant data and from the published literature identified through a systematic review) that examined sense of purpose and risk of incident dementia. Results: In six samples followed up to 17 years (four primary data and two published; total N = 53,499; n = 5,862 incident dementia), greater sense of purpose in life was associated with lower dementia risk (HR = 0.77, 95%CI = 0.73–0.81, p <  0.001). The association was generally consistent across cohorts (I2 = 47%), remained significant controlling for clinical (e.g., depression) and behavioral (e.g., physical inactivity) risk factors, and was not moderated by age, gender, or education. Conclusion: Sense of purpose is a replicable and robust predictor of lower risk of incident dementia and is a promising target of intervention for cognitive health outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (14) ◽  
pp. 3126
Author(s):  
Jaehyun Lim ◽  
So-Ryoung Lee ◽  
Eue-Keun Choi ◽  
Kyung-Do Han ◽  
Jin-Hyung Jung ◽  
...  

Background: It is unclear whether exercise would reduce dementia in patients with a new diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF). Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the association between the change in physical activity (PA) before and after new-onset AF and the risk of incident dementia. Methods: Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, we enrolled a total of 126,555 patients with newly diagnosed AF between 2010 and 2016, who underwent health examinations within two years before and after their diagnosis of AF. The patients were divided into four groups: persistent non-exercisers, exercise starters, exercise quitters, and exercise maintainers. Results: Based on a total of 396,503 person-years of follow-up, 5943 patients were diagnosed with dementia. Compared to persistent non-exercisers, exercise starters (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 0.87; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81–0.94), and exercise maintainers (aHR 0.66; 95% CI 0.61–0.72) showed a lower risk of incident dementia; however, the risk was similar in exercise quitters (aHR 0.98; 95% CI 0.92–1.05) (p-trend < 0.001). There was a J-shaped relationship between the dose of exercise and the risk of dementia, with the risk reduction maximized at 5–6 times per week of moderate-to-vigorous PA among exercise starters. Conclusion: Patients who initiated or continued regular exercise after diagnosis of AF were associated with a lower risk of dementia than persistent non-exercisers, with no risk reduction associated with exercise cessation. Our findings may provide evidence for the benefit of exercise prescription to patients with new-onset AF to prevent incident dementia regardless of their current exercise status.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsung-Kun Lin ◽  
Jing-Yang Huang ◽  
Lung-Fa Pan ◽  
Gwo-Ping Jong

Abstract Background Some observational studies have found a significant association between the use of statin and a reduced risk of dementia. However, the results of these studies are unclear in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study is to determine the association between the use of statins and the incidence of dementia according to sex and age-related differences in patients with RA. Methods We conducted a nationwide retrospective cohort study using the Taiwan Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database (2003–2016). The primary outcome assessed was the risk of dementia by estimating hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Multiple Cox regression was used to estimate the adjusted hazard ratio of new-onset dementia. Subgroup analysis was also conducted. Results Among the 264,036 eligible patients with RA aged > 40 years, statin users were compared with non-statin users by propensity score matching at a ratio of 1:1 (25,764 in each group). However, no association was found between the use of statins and the risk of new-onset dementia (NOD) in patients with RA (HR: 1.01; 95% CI: 0.97–1.06). The subgroup analysis identified the use of statin as having a protective effect against developing NOD in male and older patients. Conclusion No association was observed between the use of a statin and the risk of NOD in patients with RA, including patients of both genders and aged 40–60 years, but these parameters were affected by gender and age. The decreased risk of NOD in patients with RA was greater among older male patients. Use of a statin in older male (> 60 years) patients with RA may be needed in clinical practice to prevent dementia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sze-Wen Ting ◽  
Sze-Ya Ting ◽  
Yu-Sheng Lin ◽  
Ming-Shyan Lin ◽  
George Kuo

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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