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Abstract: Research has indicated that inflammation promote all phases of atherosclerosis. The current study tested the hypothesis that rhinosinusitis is a risk marker for myocardial infarction (MI). Data on the general population were obtained from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005 (LHID2005). The study cohort comprised patients who had received a recorded diagnosis of rhinosinusitis (N = 52,930) between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2004. The comparison group consisted of patients who had not received a rhinosinusitis diagnosis, and who were matched for age and sex with the study group at a ratio of 4 controls to 1 study patient (1:4) (N = 211,720). Each patient''s condition was followed using database entries until the end of 2006. Cox proportional hazard regressions were used to evaluate the 3-year MI-free survival rates, after adjusting for known confounding factors. We found that patients with rhinosinusitis were more likely than the control group to have MI, after adjusting for potential confounders [adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 1.84; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.44 ∼ 2.40]. Of the total 264 650 patients, 290 experienced MI during the 3-year follow-up period, including 8 acute sinusitis patients, 77 chronic sinusitis patients, and 205 control patients. The incidence rate of MI was 6.19 (95% CI 5.01–7.65) per 10,000 person-years for rhinosinusitis patients, compared to 3.51 (95% CI, 3.06–4.02) for the control patients. From this study, rhinosinusitis may be associated with MI. Further research in this important area of public health is warranted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Research has found evidence that chronic inflammation may promote atherosclerotic disease. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that rhinosinusitis is a risk factor for stroke. Methods: This prospective cohort study comprised patients recorded on the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005 (LHID2005) who had received a diagnosis of rhinosinusitis (n = 53,653) between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2005. A control group (1:4) drawn from the same database was matched for age and gender (n = 214,624). Each patient was followed up using data entered until the end of 2006. Cox proportional hazard regressions were performed to evaluate the hazard ratios (HRs) after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Results: We found that patients with rhinosinusitis were more likely to suffer strokes than the control population, after adjusting for potential confounders (adjusted HR, 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.28∼1.50). The HR of stroke was 1.39 (95% CI, 1.28∼1.51) for acute sinusitis patients, and 1.34 (95% CI, 1.04∼1.74) for chronic sinusitis patients. Conclusion: Both acute and chronic sinusitis are risk factors or markers for stroke that is independent of traditional stroke risk factors. Further research in this important area of epidemiology is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: No previous study has investigated the incidence or risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) developing after the diagnosis of psoriasis in Asian populations. Objective: We sought to evaluate the association between psoriasis and subsequent AMI during a 5-year follow-up period, using a nationwide Taiwanese population-based claims database, and taking clinical and demographic characteristics into consideration. Methods: Our study cohort consisted of all patients with a first recorded diagnosis of psoriasis (N = 4752) between 1999 and 2001 and of patients without a diagnosis of psoriasis (N = 23,760) who were matched by age and sex (1:5) to the patients with psoriasis. Each patient was tracked using hospitalization data from 2001 until the end of 2006. Stratified Cox proportional hazard regressions (stratified by age and sex) were performed as a means of computing the 5-year AMI-free survivals after adjusting for possible confounding factors. Results: Of the total sample, 70 patients (0.2%) had AMIs during the 5-year follow-up period: 22 (0.5% of the patients with psoriasis) from the study cohort and 48 (0.2%) from the comparison cohort. After adjusting for other factors, the hazard of AMI during the 5-year follow-up period was 2.10 times greater (95% confidence interval 1.27-3.43, P = .004) for patients with psoriasis than for comparison patients. Limitations: We could not take into account some known risk factors for AMI, such as smoking and body mass index. Conclusions: Psoriasis may confer an independent risk of AMI in Asian populations. We suggest that patients with psoriasis be made aware of the increased risk of AMI. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Osteoarthritis (OA) and dementia are prevalent causes of disability in geriatric patients. To date, information on the temporal correlation between these progressive diseases and the risk of dementia in patients with OA is limited. This retrospective population-based 4-year cohort study investigated the risk of dementia in patients with OA. We performed a case-control matched analysis by using the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. Patients were selected on the basis of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes for OA between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2007. The prevalence and the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of dementia in patients with and without OA were estimated. The OA cohort comprised 35,149 patients and the non-OA cohort (comparison cohort) comprised 70,298 patients (1:2). The incidence of dementia was 21.7 per 10,000 person-years in the OA cohort and 14.7 per 10,000 person-years in the non-OA cohort. The HR for dementia during the follow-up period was 1.33 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17−1.50, P < 0.001) for patients with OA. The adjusted HR for dementia was 1.25 (95% CI, 1.10−1.43, P < 0.001) for patients with OA. The results of this study indicated that OA is an independent risk factor for dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: There is evidence that chronic inflammation may promote atherosclerotic disease. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a risk marker for myocardial infarction (MI). Method: Using the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005 (LHID2005), this cohort study comprised patients with a recorded diagnosis of PID (N =68,668) between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2005, with age-matched controls (1:2) (N =136,906). Each patient was followed-up using entry data until the end of 2006. Cox proportional hazard regressions were used to evaluate the up to 3-year MI-free survival rates, after adjusting for known confounding factors. Results: We found that patients with PID were more likely to have MI than the control population after adjusting for potential confounders [adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 1.86, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.23–2.81]. When stratified by patient's age, the adjusted HR for MI was 2.09 (95% CI, 1.24–3.52) for patients with PID aged over 55years. However, the adjusted HR for MI occurring was not significant for patients with PID aged≤55years. Conclusions: PID is a risk marker for MI that is independent of traditional MI risk factors. Further research in this important area of public health is warranted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]