Introduction: This population-based cohort study investigates the association between osteoarthritis (OA) and dementia as well as the connection between NSAIDs and dementia. Methods: We chose the samples from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database and then divided them into two groups, which were then matched 1: 1 by propensity score. The first group was the OA group that contained patients with newly diagnosed OA and the second group was the non-OA group. We used the χ² test, Student t test, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and Cox proportional hazard model for different purposes. Results: The prevalence of dementia in the OA group was higher than that in the non-OA group. The adjusted hazard ratio of the former was 1.42 (95% CI, 1.30–1.54). We also found that etoricoxib and diclofenac might reduce the incidence of dementia. Conclusion: Patients with OA might have a higher risk of dementia. Both etoricoxib and diclofenac might lower the risk of dementia in patients with OA.

AimTo investigate the association between ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and alopecia.MethodsIn this cohort study, data from over 1 000 000 patients in the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database were extracted. We selected newly diagnosed (outpatient department visit three or more times or admission at least once) patients with AS (ICD‐9‐CM = 720.0) from 2000 to 2012. For the non‐AS comparison group, patients never diagnosed with AS were chosen from 1999 to 2013. In all, 3640 AS patients and 14 560 non‐AS controls were selected. Cox proportional hazard model and Kaplan‐Meier analysis were used to present the results. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) in the Cox proportional hazard model was adjusted for age, sex, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, atopic dermatitis, and mental disorder.ResultsNo increased risk of alopecia in AS patients was shown in the Cox proportional hazard model (crude HR 1.16, P = 0.595; adjusted HR 1.16, P = 0.599). Negative results are found as well in subgroup analysis of different age, sex (age 20‐40 y: HR 1.03, P = 0.925; Age ≥40 y: HR 1.49, P = 0.406; Female: HR 1.17, P = 0.759; Male: HR 1.15, P = 0.667), and phenotypes of alopecia (androgenetic alopecia: HR 1.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.58‐2.41; alopecia areata: HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.37‐2.62). A significant positive correlation is found between atopic dermatitis and alopecia (adjusted HR 8.05, P = 0.039).ConclusionIn this population‐based cohort study, we found no association of risk of alopecia and AS.

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Background: Investigate the association between AS and alopecia.Methods: Using over 1,000,000 patients’ data from Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database, we selected the sample with ICD code, diagnosing date, index date, and propensity score matching. We had 3,640 patients with AS and 14,560 non-AS controls. Cox proportional hazard model and Kaplan-Meier analysis were used to present the results.Results: The crude and adjusted hazard ratio of AS for developing alopecia showed no statistical significance in the Cox proportional hazard model [crude hazard ratio (HR) 1.16, 95% CI 0.67-1.99; adjusted HR 1.16, 95% CI 0.67-1.98]. Negative results were found as well in subgroup analysis (Age 20-40: HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.53-2.01; Age≧40: HR 1.49, 95% CI 0.58-3.80; Female: HR 1.17, 95% CI 0.43-3.17; Male: HR 1.15, 95% CI 0.61-2.19). A significant positive correlation was found between atopic dermatitis and alopecia (adjusted HR 8.05, 95% CI 1.11-58.14).Conclusions: No increased risk of alopecia was observed in AS patients