Abstract
Objective: Tuberculosis (TB) has a significant impact on public health; however, its incidence in patients with systemic necrotizing vasculitides (SNV) remains unknown. Therefore, we evaluated the incidence of TB in patients with SNV using a nationwide claims database.Methods: The Health Insurance and Review Agency database was used to identify patients diagnosed with SNV between 2010 and 2018. The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) was calculated to compared the risk of TB between patients and the general population, based on the 2016 annual national TB report. The incidence of TB after SNV diagnosis was compared by estimating age- and sex- adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR). A time-dependent Cox regression analysis was performed to estimate factors associated with TB.Results: Among the included 2,660 patients, 51 (1.9%) developed TB during the follow-up period. The risk of TB was significantly higher in patients with SNV [SIR 6.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.53–8.00], both in men (SIR 5.95) and women (SIR 6.26), than in the general population; this increased risk was consistent in all disease subtypes, except eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis. Additionally, the incidence of TB was the highest in patients with SNV within the first 3 months after diagnosis (adjusted IRR: 8.90 compared to TB ≥ 12 months). In Cox regression analysis, the diagnosis of microscopic polyangiitis [hazard ratio (HR) 3.22, 95% CI 1.04–9.99], granulomatosis with polyangiitis (HR 4.63, 95% CI 1.53–14.02), and polyarteritis nodosa (HR 3.51, 95% CI 1.13–10.88) were independent factors associated with TB.Conclusion: Even when considering the high incidence of TB in the geographic region, the risk of TB increased in patients with SNV, with a difference based on disease subtypes. Moreover, taking into account of the high incidence of TB in SNV, vigilant monitoring for TB is required especially during the early disease period.
Highlights
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and transmitted via the respiratory tract [1]
The risk of TB was significantly higher in patients with systemic necrotizing vasculitides (SNV) [standardized incidence ratio (SIR) 6.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.53–8.00], both in men (SIR 5.95) and women (SIR 6.26), than in the general population; this increased risk was consistent in all disease subtypes, except eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis
In Cox regression analysis, the diagnosis of microscopic polyangiitis [hazard ratio (HR) 3.22, 95% CI 1.04–9.99], granulomatosis with polyangiitis (HR 4.63, 95% CI 1.53–14.02), and polyarteritis nodosa (HR 3.51, 95% CI 1.13–10.88) were independent factors associated with TB
Summary
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and transmitted via the respiratory tract [1]. It usually causes inflammation in the lungs of infected patients but can affect any organ in the human body, including the lymph nodes, kidneys, central nervous system, and bones. The World Health Organization reported that the incidence of TB is estimated to be approximately 10.4 million patients worldwide annually and is one of the top 10 major causes of mortality [3]. High risk factors for developing tuberculosis are age, male sex, smoking, malnutrition, chronic diseases [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, chronic kidney disease (CKD)], malignancies, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases [AIRDs]) [4,5,6,7,8]. Research has been continuously conducted to investigate the incidence of TB in patients with AIRDs
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