Medicine
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To date, there have been few reports investigating the relationship between tuberculosis (TB) and gastric cancer. We conducted a nationwide population-based matched cohort study using data retrieved from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database to determine the incidence of and risk factors for TB in patients diagnosed with gastric cancer. From 2000 to 2011, we identified 36,972 gastric cancer patients and normal subjects from the general population matched for age, sex, and comorbidities at a 1:1 ratio. ⋯ Dyslipidemia was an independent protective factor for both TB (adjusted HR 2.13, 95% CI 1.73-2.62, P < 0.001) and mortality (adjusted HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.08-1.15, P < 0.001) in gastric cancer patients. Old age, male sex, diabetes mellitus, and COPD were independent risk factors for TB in gastric cancer. High-risk gastric cancer patients, especially those in TB-endemic areas, should be regularly screened for TB.
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Observational Study
Nonadherence of Oral Antihyperglycemic Medication Will Increase Risk of End-Stage Renal Disease.
Poor glycemic control is related to an increased risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This study investigated the association between medication adherence and the risk of ESRD in patients with newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus. In this population-based cohort study, we used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) to identify 559,864 patients with newly diagnosed or treated diabetes mellitus who were ages from 20 to 85 years between 2001 and 2008. ⋯ The effects of nonadherence to OAM on the risk of ESRD were significant for patients without hypertension, without gout, without chronic kidney disease, undergoing OAM polytherapy, and undergoing metformin polytherapy (HR [95% CIs], 1.18 [1.00-1.39], 1.13 [1.02-1.26], 1.17 [1.03-1.33], 1.22 [1.08-1.38], and 1.13 [1.02-1.25], respectively). In conclusion, nonadherence to OAM therapy is associated with ESRD. Adherence to medication therapy can prevent the progressive loss of renal function and ESRD for patients with diabetes.