Increased cardiovascular risk and all-cause death in patients with Behcet’s disease: a nationwide population-based dynamic cohort study = Increased cardiovascular risk and all-cause death in patients with Behcet’s disease: a nationwide population-based dynamic cohort study

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Background: Behcet’s disease is a inflammatory multiorgan disease. An increased risk of cardiovascular disease and heightened death rate with Behcet’s disease have been suggested, but, to our knowledge, a nationwide large-scale study has not been conducted to date.
Objectives: This study aimed to determine the overall cardiovascular risk and death rate in Behcet’s disease patients versus controls using the Korean National Health Insurance Service claim database.
Methods: Patients with Behcet’s disease (n = 5,576) with no previous history of cardiovascular disease were selected from 2010 to 2014. An age- and sex-matched control population of individuals without Behcet’s disease (n = 27,880) was randomly sampled at a ratio of 5:1. Both cohorts were followed for incident cardiovascular disease or all-cause death until 2015.
Results: The risks of myocardial infarction [hazard ratio (HR): 1.72, 95% CI: 1.01-2.73] and stroke [HR: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.09-2.50] were significantly higher in Behcet’s disease patients than in control patients. Behcet’s disease patients also had a significantly higher risk of all cause death [HR: 1.82, 95% CI: 1.40-2.37] compared to controls.
Conclusion: Korean Behcet’s disease patients had a higher overall risk of cardiovascular disease than did those without Behcet’s disease. Therefore, patients with Behcet’s disease must be carefully monitored for the potential development of cardiovascular disease to ensure that appropriate early treatments are delivered.