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Patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) have a higher risk for dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and coronary artery disease than the general population, a study published in the Journal of Dermatology reports.
Data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) were used in this study. The cohort comprised a total of 2390 outpatients and inpatients with a new dermatologist-confirmed HS diagnosis (n=478) or non-HS matched control patients (n=1912) who were included in the database between 2000 and 2013. Patients were followed from the index date until the incidence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, coronary artery disease, cerebral infarction, withdrawal from the National Health Insurance program, or until the end of 2013.
Patients with HS had a higher risk for dyslipidemia compared with matched control patients (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 3.858; 95% CI, 2.785-5.346; P <.001). In addition, patients with newly diagnosed HS also had a higher risk for hypertension (aHR, 1.910; 95% CI, 1.463-2.493; P <.001) and diabetes mellitus (aHR, 1.709; 95% CI, 1.127-2.591; P =.012).
Individuals with HS also had a higher risk for coronary artery disease compared with the non-HS population (aHR, 2.722; 95% CI, 1.628-4.553; P <.001). There was no significant increase in the risk for cerebral infarction in patients with HS (aHR, 0.514; 95% CI, 0.119-2.231; P =.375). In the third year, the incidence of cardiovascular disease risk factors was significantly higher in patients with HS (P =.003), which persisted until the end of follow up.
Limitations of the study included the lack of data on HS severity, body weight, smoking status, occupation, stress level, or genetic and environmental factors.
The researchers concluded that their “findings remind clinicians that careful follow up of HS patients is crucial” to potentially mitigate the risk for cardiovascular disease.
Reference
Hung CT, Chiang CP, Chung CH, Tsao CH, Chien WC, Wang WM. Increased risk of cardiovascular comorbidities in hidradenitis suppurativa: a nationwide, population-based, cohort study in Taiwan. J Dermatol. 2019;46(10):867-873.
