Browsing by Author "Li, Chien-Hsun"

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Angiotensin Receptor Blockers Decrease the Risk of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease on Maintenance Dialysis: A Nationwide Matched-Cohort Study
(2015-10-21)
Tzeng, Nian-Sheng
;
Yin, Yun-Ju
;
Li, Chien-Hsun
;
Chen, Hung-An
;
Chiu, Shih-Hsiang
Background Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) cause the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on maintenance Hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD). Many randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) have proved that angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) can reduce the risk of MACE in the people with normal or impaired kidney function without dialysis. This study seeks to clarify whether ARBs therapy could also attenuate this risk in patients with ESRD on maintenance dialysis. Materials and Methods The National Health Research Institute provided a database of one million random subjects for the study. A random sample was taken of 1800 patients >= 18 years y/o with ESRD on dialysis without a history of MACE and use of ARBs within 6-months prior to enrollment. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors and compute the hazard ratios accompanying 95% confidence intervals. Results In these 1800 patients, 1061 had never used ARBs, while 224 had used them for 1-90 days, and 515 had used them for more than 90 days. We found that ARBs significantly decrease the incidences of acute myocardial infarctions (AMI), coronary artery diseases (CAD) requiring coronary stent or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), peripheral artery disease (PAD) requiring percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), and acute stroke. Cumulative prescription days of ARBs beyond 365-760 days or more were found to be negatively correlated with incidence of MACEs. For patients with dual comorbidity (i.e., mellitus and hyperlipidemia), 91-365 cumulative prescription days might also attenuate the risk. Conclusions For patients on maintenance dialysis, the use of ARBs could significantly attenuate the risk of major cardiovascular events: AMI, acute stroke, and PAD requiring PTA.
Bronchial asthma is associated with increased risk of chronic kidney disease
(2014-05-08)
Huang, Hui-Ling
;
Ho, Shinn-Ying
;
Li, Chien-Hsun
;
Chu, Fang-Ying
;
Ciou, Li-Ping
Background: Bronchial asthma influences some chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension, but the impact of asthma on vital diseases such as chronic kidney disease is not yet verified. This study aims to clarify the association between bronchial asthma and the risk of developing chronic kidney disease. Methods: The National Health Research Institute provided a database of one million random subjects for the study. A random sample of 141 064 patients aged >= 18 years without a history of kidney disease was obtained from the database. Among them, there were 35 086 with bronchial asthma and 105 258 without asthma matched for sex and age for a ration of 1:3. After adjusting for confounding risk factors, a Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare the risk of developing chronic kidney disease during a three-year follow-up period. Results: Of the subjects with asthma, 2 196 (6.26%) developed chronic kidney disease compared to 4 120 (3.91%) of the control subjects. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed that subjects with asthma were more likely to develop chronic kidney disease (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.48-1.64; p < 0.001). After adjusting for sex, age, monthly income, urbanization level, geographic region, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and steroid use, the HR for asthma patients was 1.40 (95% CI: 1.33-1.48; p = 0.040). There was decreased HRs in steroid use (HR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.62-0.61; p < 0.001) in the development of chronic kidney disease. Expectorants, bronchodilators, anti-muscarinic agents, airway smooth muscle relaxants, and leukotriene receptor antagonists may also be beneficial in attenuating the risk of chronic kidney disease. Conclusions: Patients with bronchial asthma may have increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease. The use of steroids or non-steroidal drugs in the treatment of asthma may attenuate this risk.
Increased Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease in Rheumatoid Arthritis Associated with Cardiovascular Complications - A National Population-Based Cohort Study
(2015-09-25)
Chiu, Hsien-Yi
;
Huang, Hui-Ling
;
Li, Chien-Hsun
;
Chen, Hung-An
;
Yeh, Chia-Lun
Background and Objectives There have been few large population-based studies of the association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) and glomerulonephritis. This nationwide cohort study investigated the risks of developing CKD and glomerulonephritis in patients with RA, and the associated risks for cardiovascular complications. Methods From the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified a study cohort of 12,579 patients with RA and randomly selected 37,737 subjects without RA as a control cohort. Each subject was individually followed for up for 5 years, and the risk of CKD was analyzed using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Results During the follow-up period, after adjusting for traditional cardiovascular risk factors RA was independently associated with a significantly increased risk of CKD (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.23-1.40) and glomerulonephritis (aHR 1.55; 95% CI 1.37-1.76). Increased risk of CKD was also associated with the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, cyclosporine, glucocorticoids, mycophenolate mofetil, and cyclophosphamide. Patients with comorbidities had even greater increased risk of CKD. Moreover, RA patients with concurrent CKD had significantly higher likelihood of developing ischemic heart disease and stroke. Conclusions RA patients had higher risk of developing CKD and glomerulonephritis, independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Their increased risk of CKD may be attributed to glomerulonephritis, chronic inflammation, comorbidities, and renal toxicity of antirheumatic drugs. Careful monitoring of renal function in RA patients and tight control of their comorbid diseases and cardiovascular risk factors are warranted.