Risk of inflammatory bowel disease in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A nationwide, population-based study

BACKGROUND There is a growing evidence regarding an increased risk of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)among patients with airway diseases.AIM To investigate the influence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)on the risk of IBD.METHODS A nationwide,population-based study was conducted using data from the National Health Insurance Service database.A total of 1303021 patients with COPD and 6515105 non-COPD controls were identified.The COPD group was divided into the severe and the mild COPD group according to diagnostic criteria.The risk of IBD in patients with COPD compared to controls was analyzed by Cox proportional hazard regression models.The cumulative incidences of IBD were compared between the groups.RESULTS The COPD group had higher incidences of IBD compared to non-COPD controls(incidence rate,9.98 vs 7.18 per 100000 person-years,P<0.001).The risk of IBD in the COPD group was increased by 1.38(adjusted hazard ratio(HR);95%CI:1.25-1.52).The incidence rate of IBD was higher in the severe COPD group than in the mild COPD group(12.39 vs 9.77 per 100000 person-year,P<0.001).The severity of COPD was associated with an increased risk of IBD(adjusted HR 1.70 in severe COPD,95%CI:1.27-2.21 and adjusted HR 1.35 in mild COPD,95%CI:1.22-1.49)CONCLUSION The incidences of IBD were significantly increased in COPD patients in South Korea and the risk of developing IBD also increased as the severity of COPD increased.

Low skeletal muscle mass is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Korean adults： the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

BACKGROUND： Sarcopenia and non-alcoholic fatty liver dis- ease （NAFLD） share similar pathophysiological mechanisms, and the relationship between sarcopenia and NAFLD has been recently investigated. The study investigated whether low skel- etal muscle mass is differentially associated with NAFLD by gender in Korean adults. METHODS： We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the data from the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The skeletal muscle index （SMI） was obtained by the appendicular skeletal muscle mass divided by the weight. NAFLD was defined as a fatty liver index （FLI） 〉60 in the absence of other chronic liver disease. RESULTS： Among the included subjects, 18.3% （SE： 1.4%） in men and 7.0% （SE： 0.7%） in women were classified as having FLI-defined NAFLD. Most of the risk factors for FLI-defined NAFLD showed a significant negative correlation with the SMI in both genders. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that low SMI was associated with FLI-defined NAFLD, inde- pendent of other metabolic and lifestyle parameters in both genders [males： odds ratio （OR）=1.35; 95% confidence inter- val （CI）： 1.17-1.54; females： OR=1.36; 95% CI： 1.18-1.55]. The magnitude of the association between FLI-defined NAFLD and low SMI was higher in middle aged to elderly males （OR-1.50; 95% CI： 1.22-1.84） than in males less than 45 years of age （OR=1.25; 95% CI： 1.02-1.52） and in premenopausal females （OR=l.50; 95% CI： 1.12-2.03） than in postmenopausal females （OR-1.36; 95% CI： 1.20-1.54）.CONCLUSIONS： Low SMI is associated with the risk of FLI- defined NAFLD independent of other well-known metabolic risk factors in both genders. This association may differ ac- cording to age group or menopausal status. Further studies are warranted to confirm this relationship.

Periodontitis combined with smoking increases risk of the ulcerative colitis: A national cohort study

BACKGROUND Periodontitis is a chronic inflammation of periodontal tissues.The effect of periodontitis on the development of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)remains unclear.AIM To assessed the risk of IBD among patients with periodontitis,and the risk factors for IBD related to periodontitis.METHODS A nationwide population-based cohort study was performed using claims data from the Korean National Healthcare Insurance Service.In total,9950548 individuals aged≥20 years who underwent national health screening in 2009 were included.Newly diagnosed IBD[Crohn’s disease(CD),ulcerative colitis(UC)]using the International Classification of Disease 10th revision and rare intractable disease codes,was compared between the periodontitis and nonperiodontitis groups until 2017.RESULTS A total of 1092825 individuals(11.0%)had periodontitis.Periodontitis was significantly associated with older age,male gender,higher body mass index,quitting smoking,not drinking alcohol,and regular exercise.The mean age was 51.4±12.9 years in the periodontitis group and 46.6±14.2 years in the nonperiodontitis group(P<0.01),respectively.The mean body mass index was 23.9±3.1 and 23.7±3.2 in the periodontitis and non-periodontitis groups,respectively(P<0.01).Men were 604307(55.3%)and 4844383(54.7%)in the periodontitis and non-periodontitis groups,respectively.The mean follow-up duration was 7.26 years.Individuals with periodontitis had a significantly higher risk of UC than those without periodontitis[adjusted hazard ratio:1.091;95%confidence interval(CI):1.008-1.182],but not CD(adjusted hazard ratio:0.879;95%confidence interval:0.731-1.057).The risks for UC were significant in the subgroups of age≥65 years,male gender,alcohol drinker,current smoker,and reduced physical activity.Current smokers aged≥65 years with periodontitis were at a 1.9-fold increased risk of UC than non-smokers aged≥65 years without periodontitis.CONCLUSION Periodontitis was significantly associated with the risk of developing UC,but not CD,particularly in current smokers aged≥65 years.

Repeatedly elevatedγ-glutamyltransferase levels are associated with an increased incidence of digestive cancers:A population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND The association between elevatedγ-glutamyltransferase(GGT)at a certain point and incident cancer has been suggested;however,no study has evaluated the association between repeatedly elevated GGT and cancer incidence.AIM To investigate the effects of repeatedly elevated GGT on the incidence of digestive cancers.METHODS Participants who had undergone health screening from 2009 to 2012 and 4 consecutive previous examinations were enrolled.GGT points were calculated as the number of times participants met the criteria of quartile 4 of GGT in four serial measurements(0-4 points).Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models were applied.RESULTS In total,3559109 participants were included;among them,43574 digestive cancers developed during a median of 6.8 years of follow-up.The incidence of total digestive cancers increased in a dose-response manner in men[adjusted hazard ratio(aHR)compared with those with 0 GGT points=1.28 and 95%confidence interval(CI)=1.24-1.33 in those with 1 point;aHR=1.40 and 95%CI=1.35-1.46 in those with 2 points;aHR=1.52 and 95%CI=1.46-1.58 in those with 3 points;aHR=1.88 and 95%CI=1.83-1.94 in those with 4 points;P for trend<0.001].This trend was more prominent in men than in women and those with healthy habits(no smoking,no alcohol consumption,and a low body mass index)than in those with unhealthy habits.CONCLUSION Repeatedly elevated GGT levels were associated with an increased risk of incident digestive cancer in a dose-responsive manner,particularly in men and those with healthy habits.Repeated GGT measurements may be a good biomarker of incident digestive cancer and could help physicians identify high-risk populations.

Trends and risk factors of elderly-onset Crohn’s disease: A nationwide cohort study

BACKGROUND The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)is increasing in Asia.Numerous risk factors associated with IBD development have been investigated.AIM To investigate trends and environmental risk factors of Crohn’s disease(CD)diagnosed in persons aged≥40 years in South Korea.METHODS Using the National Health Insurance Service database,a total of 14060821 persons aged>40 years who underwent national health screening in 2009 were followed up until December 2017.Patients with newly diagnosed CD were enrolled and compared with non-CD cohort.CD was identified according to the International Classification of Diseases 10th revision and the rare/intractable disease registration program codes from the National Health Insurance Service database.The mean follow-up periods was 7.39 years.Age,sex,diabetes,hypertension,smoking,alcohol consumption,regular exercise,body mass index,anemia,chronic kidney disease(CKD)and dyslipidemia were adjusted for in the multivariate analysis model.RESULTS During the follow-up,1337(1.33/100000)patients developed CD.Men in the middle-aged group(40-64 years)had a higher risk than women[adjusted hazard ratio(aHR)1.46,95%confidence interval(CI):1.29-1.66];however,this difference tended to disappear as the age of onset increases.In the middle-aged group,patients with a history of smoking[(aHR 1.46,95%CI:1.19-1.79)and anemia(aHR 1.85,95%CI:1.55-2.20)]had a significantly higher CD risk.In the elderly group(age,≥65 years),ex-smoking and anemia also increased the CD risk(aHR 1.68,95%CI:1.22-2.30)and 1.84(95%CI:1.47-2.30,respectively).Especially in the middle-aged group,those with CKD had a statistically elevated CD risk(aHR 1.37,95%CI:1.05-1.79).Alcohol consumption and higher body mass index showed negative association trend with CD incidence in both of the age groups.[Middle-aged:aHR 0.77(95%CI:0.66-0.89)and aHR 0.73(95% CI:0.63-0.84),respectively][Elderly-group:aHR 0.57(95% CI:0.42-0.78)and aHR 0.84(95%CI 0.67-1.04),respectively].For regular physical activity and dyslipidemia,negative correlation between CD incidences was proved only in the middle-aged group[aHR 0.88(95%CI:0.77-0.89)and aHR 0.81(95%CI:0.68-0.96),respectively].CONCLUSION History of cigarette smoking,anemia,underweight and CKD are possible risk factors for CD in Asians aged>40 years.

Differential risk of 23 site-specific incident cancers and cancer-related mortality among patients withmetabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease:a population-based cohort study with 9.7 million Korean subjects

Introduction:Although an association between metabolic dysfunctionassociated fatty liver disease(MAFLD)and cardiovascular disease or overall mortality has been reported,it is unclearwhether there is an association between MAFLD and cancer incidence or mortality.We aimed to investigate the differential risk of all-and site-specific cancer incidence and mortality according to MAFLD subgroups categorized by additional etiologies of liver disease.Methods:Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database,we stratified the participants into three groups:(1)single-etiology MAFLD(SMAFLD)or MAFLD of pure metabolic origin;(2)mixed-etiology MAFLD(M-MAFLD)or MAFLD with additional etiological factor(s)(i.e.,concomitant liver diseases and/or heavy alcohol consumption);and(3)non-MAFLD.Hepatic steatosis and fibrosiswere defined using the fatty liver index and the BARDscore,respectively.Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to estimate the risk of cancer events.Results:Among the 9,718,182 participants,the prevalence of S-MAFLD and M-MAFLD was 29.2%and 6.7%,respectively.During the median 8.3 years of follow-up,510,330(5.3%)individuals were newly diagnosed with cancer,and 122,774(1.3%)cancer-related deaths occurred among the entire cohort.Compared with the non-MAFLD group,the risk of all-cancer incidence and mortality was slightly higher among patients in the S-MAFLD group(incidence,adjusted hazard ratio[aHR]=1.03;95%confidence interval[CI]:1.02−1.04;mortality,aHR=1.06;95%CI:1.04−1.08)and highest among patients with M-MAFLD group(incidence,aHR=1.31;95%CI:1.29−1.32;mortality,aHR=1.45;95%CI:1.42−1.48,respectively).The M-MAFLD with fibrosis group(BARD score≥2)showed the highest relative risk of all-cancer incidence(aHR=1.38,95%CI=1.36–1.39),followed by the M-MAFLD without fibrosis group(aHR=1.09,95%CI=1.06–1.11).Similar trends were observed for cancer-related mortality.Conclusions:MAFLD classification,by applying additional etiologies other than pure metabolic origin,can be used to identify a subgroup of patients with poor cancer-related outcomes.