Hemorrhoid is associated with increased risk of peripheral artery occlusive disease: A nationwide cohort study

BACKGROUND This study was conducted to evaluate the association between hemorrhoid and risk of incident peripheral artery occlusive disease (PAOD). METHODS Using the Taiwanese Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000, we compared the incident PAOD risk between the hemorrhoid and the non-hemorrhoid cohorts. Both of these cohorts were followed up from the index date until the date of PAOD diagnosis, withdrawal from the National Health Insurance program, or the end of 2011. RESULTS The mean follow-up period was 6.82 (standard deviation [SD], 3.22) and 6.70 (SD, 3.23) years in the hemorrhoid and non-hemorrhoid cohorts, respectively. The plot of the Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that, by the end of the 12-year follow-up period, the cumulative incidence of PAOD was significantly higher for the hemorrhoid cohort than for the non-hemorrhoid cohort (log-rank test: P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS A significantly increased PAOD risk in patients with hemorrhoids was found in this nationwide cohort study.