Abstract
Background
Little is known about the risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD) in tuberculosis (TB) survivors.
Methods
We performed a population-based retrospective cohort study using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. TB survivors (n = 60,602) and their 1:1 age- and sex-matched controls (n = 60,602) were enrolled. Eligible participants were followed up from 1 year after their TB diagnosis to the date of an IHD event, date of deat h, or the end of the study period (December 31, 2018), whichever came first. The risk of IHD was estimated using a Cox proportional hazards regression, and stratified analyses were performed for related factors. Among IHD events, we additionally analyzed for myocardial infarction (MI).
Results
During a median of 3.9 years of follow-up, 2.7% of TB survivors (1,633/60,602) and 2.0% of the matched controls (1,228/60,602) developed IHD, and 0.6% of TB patients (341/60,602) and 0.4% of the matched controls (223/60,602) developed MI. The overall risk of developing IHD and MI was higher in TB patients (adjusted hazard [aHR] 1.21, 95% CI 1.12–1.32 for IHD and aHR 1.48, 95% CI 1.23–1.78 for MI) than in the matched controls. Stratified analyses showed that TB survivors have an increased risk of IHD and MI regardless of income, place of residence, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, body mass index, and Charlson comorbidity index.
Conclusions
TB surviv ors have a higher risk of IHD than matched controls. Strategies are needed to reduce the burden of IHD in TB survivors.
