Hsing-Cheng Liu1,2,3, Galen Chin-Lun Hung1,4, Shu-Yu Yang1,5, Ya-Tang Liao6, Chun-Hung Pan1,7, Chiao-Chicy Chen2,3,8, Chian-Jue Kuo1,2,3. 1. Taipei City Psychiatric Center, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. 2. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. 3. Psychiatric Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. 4. Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan. 5. Graduate Institute of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. 6. Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. 7. Department of Psychology, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan. 8. Department of Psychiatry, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Abstract
AIM: Patients with schizophrenia have a higher incidence of tuberculosis than do people in the general population. Information is limited regarding the association between antipsychotic agents and the risk of tuberculosis in patients with schizophrenia. This exploratory study assessed the risk of tuberculosis among patients with schizophrenia on antipsychotic therapy. METHODS: Among a nationwide schizophrenia cohort derived from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan (n = 32 399), we identified 284 patients who had developed newly diagnosed tuberculosis after their first psychiatric admission. Ten or fewer matched controls were selected randomly from the cohort for each patient based on risk-set sampling. We categorized exposure to antipsychotic medications by type and defined daily dose. Using multivariate methods, we explored individual antipsychotic agents for the risk of tuberculosis and employed a propensity-scoring method in sensitivity analyses to validate any associations. RESULTS: Among the antipsychotic agents studied and after adjustment for covariates, current use of clozapine was the only antipsychotic agent associated with a 63% increased risk of tuberculosis (adjusted risk ratio = 1.63, P = 0.014). In addition, the association did not show a clear dose-dependent relationship. Clozapine combined with other antipsychotic agents showed a potential synergistic risk for tuberculosis (adjusted risk ratio = 2.30, P = 0.044). CONCLUSION: This exploratory study suggests the potential risk of clozapine on the risk of tuberculosis, especially for those on clozapine in combination with other antipsychotics. Future studies are needed to verify the association.
AIM: Patients with schizophrenia have a higher incidence of tuberculosis than do people in the general population. Information is limited regarding the association between antipsychotic agents and the risk of tuberculosis in patients with schizophrenia. This exploratory study assessed the risk of tuberculosis among patients with schizophrenia on antipsychotic therapy. METHODS: Among a nationwide schizophrenia cohort derived from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan (n = 32 399), we identified 284 patients who had developed newly diagnosed tuberculosis after their first psychiatric admission. Ten or fewer matched controls were selected randomly from the cohort for each patient based on risk-set sampling. We categorized exposure to antipsychotic medications by type and defined daily dose. Using multivariate methods, we explored individual antipsychotic agents for the risk of tuberculosis and employed a propensity-scoring method in sensitivity analyses to validate any associations. RESULTS: Among the antipsychotic agents studied and after adjustment for covariates, current use of clozapine was the only antipsychotic agent associated with a 63% increased risk of tuberculosis (adjusted risk ratio = 1.63, P = 0.014). In addition, the association did not show a clear dose-dependent relationship. Clozapine combined with other antipsychotic agents showed a potential synergistic risk for tuberculosis (adjusted risk ratio = 2.30, P = 0.044). CONCLUSION: This exploratory study suggests the potential risk of clozapine on the risk of tuberculosis, especially for those on clozapine in combination with other antipsychotics. Future studies are needed to verify the association.
Authors: Jose de Leon; Can-Jun Ruan; Georgios Schoretsanitis; Carlos De Las Cuevas Journal: Psychother Psychosom Date: 2020-04-14 Impact factor: 17.659