Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Behçet Disease: A Population-based Retrospective Cohort Study in Korea

Abstract

Background: Few studies have investigated the association between Behçet disease (BD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to investigate the risk of various CVDs in patients with BD. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the risk of various CVD in patients with BD. Methods: Between 2003 and 2015, we performed a retrospective cohort study involving patients with BD selected from Korea’s National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort database and age- and sex-matched controls. Age- and sex-matched controls were selected randomly from the NHIS-NSC database at a frequency of 1:5. Results: Among the 998 patients with BD and the 4,990 controls studied, patients with BD showed significantly higher risk for angina pectoris (adjusted Hazard Ratio [HR] 1.522, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.020∼2.273; p=0.04) and peripheral arterial disease (adjusted HR 2.939, 95% CI 1.296∼6.664; p=0.01) than the controls. The cumulative incidence rates of these diseases in patients with BD were also significantly higher than those in the controls. Conclusion: Patients with BD showed independent risk for angina pectoris and peripheral arterial disease.