Abstract

Research has indicated that inflammation promote all phases of atherosclerosis. The current study tested the hypothesis that rhinosinusitis is a risk marker for myocardial infarction (MI). Data on the general population were obtained from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005 (LHID2005). The study cohort comprised patients who had received a recorded diagnosis of rhinosinusitis (N = 52,930) between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2004. The comparison group consisted of patients who had not received a rhinosinusitis diagnosis, and who were matched for age and sex with the study group at a ratio of 4 controls to 1 study patient (1:4) (N = 211,720). Each patient's condition was followed using database entries until the end of 2006. Cox proportional hazard regressions were used to evaluate the 3-year MI-free survival rates, after adjusting for known confounding factors. We found that patients with rhinosinusitis were more likely than the control group to have MI, after adjusting for potential confounders [adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 1.84; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.44 ∼ 2.40]. Of the total 264 650 patients, 290 experienced MI during the 3-year follow-up period, including 8 acute sinusitis patients, 77 chronic sinusitis patients, and 205 control patients. The incidence rate of MI was 6.19 (95% CI 5.01-7.65) per 10,000 person-years for rhinosinusitis patients, compared to 3.51 (95% CI, 3.06-4.02) for the control patients. From this study, rhinosinusitis may be associated with MI. Further research in this important area of public health is warranted.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)263-268
Number of pages6
JournalAtherosclerosis
Volume226
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2013

Keywords

  • Epidemiology
  • Incidence
  • MI
  • Rhinosinusitis
  • Risk factors

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Risk of myocardial infarction in patients with rhinosinusitis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this