Jui-Lung Shen’s research while affiliated with Taichung Veterans General Hospital and other places

Hintergrund: Der Zusammenhang zwischen Lungenkrebs und Ekzemen bleibt umstritten. Frühere Studien haben zu widersprüchlichen Ergebnissen geführt. Diese retrospektive populationsbasierte Kohortenstudie zielt darauf ab, das Risiko von Lungenkrebs im Zusammenhang mit Ekzemen abzuklären. Patienten und methoden: In der Forschungsdatenbank der taiwanesischen nationalen Krankenversicherung identifizierten wir 43719 Patienten, bei denen in den Jahren 2000 bis 2010 ein Ekzem neu diagnostiziert wurde. Die Vergleichskohorte bildeten 87438 zufällig ausgewählte, altersangepasste Patienten ohne Ekzem. Die Fälle aus diesen beiden Kohorten wurden bis 2011 verfolgt. Zur Kalkulation des Lungenkrebsrisikos bei Ekzempatienten wurde die Cox-Regression verwendet. Die Datenbank enthielt keine Informationen über Raucherstatus, Alkoholkonsum, sozioökonomischen Status oder Familienanamnese. Ergebnisse: Nach der Bereinigung um Alter und Komorbidität hatte die Population mit Ekzemen ein um 2,80 erhöhtes Risiko für die Entwicklung von Lungenkrebs gegenüber der Vergleichskohorte (bereinigte Hazard-Ratio 2,80, 95 % Konfidenzinterval 2,59-3,03). Ekzempatienten mit Begleiterkrankungen, darunter Asthma, chronisch obstruktive Lungenerkrankungen, alkoholbedingten Leberschäden oder Diabetes, hatten ein höheres Lungenkrebsrisiko als Patienten ohne Ekzeme oder Komorbidität. Schlussfolgerungen: Ekzeme gehen mit einem höheren Risiko für die Entwicklung von Lungenkrebs einher. Weitere Studien mit umfassenderen Informationen über weitere potentielle Einflussfaktoren sind sinnvoll.

Background: The association between lung cancer and eczema remains controversial. Previous studies have yielded conflicting results. This retrospective population-based cohort study is aimed at clarifying the risk of lung cancer associated with eczema. Patients and methods: By using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified 43,719 patients who had been newly diagnosed with eczema in the years 2000 to 2010. The comparison cohort included 87,438 randomly selected, age-matched patients without eczema. The cases of these two cohorts were followed until 2011. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to calculate the risk of lung cancer in eczema patients. The database did not contain any information regarding smoking, alcohol consumption, socioeconomic status, or family history. Results: After adjusting for age and comorbidity, the population with eczema had a 2.80-fold greater risk of developing lung cancer compared with the population in the comparison cohort (adjusted hazard ratio 2.80, 95 % confidence interval 2.59-3.03). Eczema patients with comorbid diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive -pulmonary disease, alcoholic liver damage, or diabetes were at a higher risk of lung cancer compared with the non-eczema patients without comorbidity. Conclusions: Eczema is associated with a greater risk for the development of lung cancer. Further studies with more comprehensive information on potential confounders are warranted.

Introduction This population-based cohort study based on the “lung governing skin and hair” theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to investigate the association of lung cancer with non-eczema skin and subcutaneous diseases. Methods By using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified 13,034 patients who had been newly diagnosed with non-eczema skin and subcutaneous diseases from 2000 to 2010. 26,068 age-matched patients without non-eczema skin and subcutaneous diseases were randomly selected as the comparison cohort. Results The mean follow-up of the non-eczema skin and subcutaneous disease cohort was 7.66 years and control cohort was 7.53 years, respectively. The cumulative incidence of lung cancer was higher in the non-eczema skin and subcutaneous disease cohort than that in the control cohort by 2.89% at the end of follow-up. The non-eczema skin and subcutaneous disease cohort had a higher lung cancer incidence than the control cohort. The non-eczema skin and subcutaneous disease patients with or without comorbidity were associated with lung cancer. Conclusions These results suggest that non-eczematous skin and subcutaneous diseases is associated with lung cancer, thus supporting the lung governing skin and hair theory of TCM.

Psoriasis patients with moderate to severe disease often present with depression and insomnia. Treatment targeting both psoriasis and psychological comorbidities is needed to improve the quality of life of these patients. In this nationwide cohort study, a total of 980 patients with psoriatic arthritis or psoriasis who had received nonbiological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and biologics therapy between 2009 and 2012 were identified. The prevalence rates of patients taking medications for depression and insomnia were compared before and after biologics therapy. Logistic regression method was used to investigate the risk factors for depression and insomnia. Further stratified analyses were performed to examine the prevalence of use of medications for depression and insomnia among different patient subgroups. The prevalence of patients taking regular antidepressants before starting biologics therapy was about 20%. There was a more than 40% reduction in this prevalence after biologics therapy for 2 years. Age higher than 45 years, female sex, presence of comorbidities, and psoriatic arthritis were independently associated with depression and insomnia. Further stratified analyses revealed a more rapid and significant reduction in depression/insomnia in those undergoing continuous biologics therapy, younger than 45 years, without psoriatic arthritis and not taking concomitant methotrexate, when compared with their counterparts. The results suggest that biologics therapy may be associated with reduced rates of depression and insomnia, and a reduced rate of regular antidepressants use in psoriasis patients.

Epidemiological studies have shown a strong association between dermatitis and stroke. Systemic corticosteroid, the mainstay treatment for dermatitis, could enhance the atherosclerotic process. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been used for dermatitis to decrease the side effects of corticosteroid. However, the different stroke risk in dermatitis patients treated with systemic corticosteroid or TCM remains unclear. This study identified 235,220 dermatitis patients and same comorbidity matched subjects between 2000 and 2009 from database of NHRI in Taiwan. The two cohorts were followed until December 31, 2011. The primary outcome of interest was new diagnosis of stroke. The crude hazard ratio (HR) for future stroke among dermatitis patients treated with systemic corticosteroid was 1.40 (95% CI, 1.34-1.45; P < 0.0001) and TCM was 1.09 (95% CI, 1.05-1.13; P < 0.0001). The log-rank test showed a higher cumulative incidence of ischemic stroke in the patient treated with only systemic corticosteroid group than that treated with systemic corticosteroid and TCM, only TCM, and neither systemic corticosteroid nor TCM in the matched cohort during the follow-up period (P < 0.0001). We demonstrated that patients treated with systemic corticosteroid had an increased risk of stroke and that the risk probably decreased by TCM treatment.