Association between diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, chronic viral hepatitis, and the risk of multiple myeloma: a case-control study

Abstract

Abstract Objective This case-control study aimed to investigate whether diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and chronic viral hepatitis are risk factors for multiple myeloma (MM). Moreover, the clinical characteristics of MM patients with or without the abovementioned exposure factors were analyzed. Methods In total, 340 MM patients and 680 patients with benign diseases who were hospitalized from January 2012 to December 2017 were classified under the case group and control group, respectively. Data about medical history of DM, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and chronic viral hepatitis were collected by reviewing medical records. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to compare the history of DM, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and viral hepatitis between the two groups. Considering DM, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and chronic viral hepatitis as exposure factors, clinical characteristics, such as renal function and presence of fungal and other types of infections, between the exposed and non-exposed groups were analyzed. Results No significant difference was observed in the prevalence of DM, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia between the case and control groups. MM patients had a higher prevalence of chronic viral hepatitis than those with benign diseases. No significant difference was observed in the prevalence of renal dysfunction, fungal infection, and non-fungal infections in MM patients with or without DM, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. MM patients with chronic viral hepatitis had a significantly higher prevalence of non-fungal infections during hospitalization than those without. Conclusion No significant association was noted between MM and DM, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. Chronic viral hepatitis is correlated to a significantly higher risk of MM, and MM patients with chronic viral hepatitis were more susceptible to non-fungal infections during hospitalization. Although a non-significant trend was observed in this study, we believe that DM and hypertension might be associated with a higher risk of MM. Thus, large-scale studies must be conducted to validate the results of the current study.