Risk and Mortality of Cardiovascular Diseases in Patients with Dupuytren's Disease: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

Background: Dupuytren's disease (DD) is a type of fibroproliferative disease that involves the palmar aspect of the hand. Although many benign fibroproliferative diseases have been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, the relationship between DD and myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke has not been fully elucidated. Methods: A total of 35,909 patients with DD and a control cohort with 1,077,270 age- and sex-matched participants from the Korean National Health Insurance database were included. The incidence of MI, stroke, and survival after cardiovascular events, were compared between participants with DD and the control cohort. Results: Compared with the control cohort, the incidence rate ratio for cardiovascular diseases in DD was 1.51 (95% confidence interval, CI 1.44–1.58) for MI, 2.01 (CI 1.94–2.09) for ischemic stroke (IS), and 1.49 (CI 1.36–1.63) for hemorrhagic stroke (HS). After adjusting for other cardiovascular disease risk factors, DD was associated with an increased risk of IS. Based on the age-, sex-, and BMI-stratified analyses, an increased risk of MI was identified in the younger age group (<50 years) and thin subjects (BMI<18.5 kg/m²). Adjusted hazard ratios for mortality in subjects with DD who developed cardiovascular diseases were 0.51 (CI 0.43–0.60), 0.56 (CI 0.50–0.62), and 1.08 (CI 0.86–1.36), respectively. Conclusions: DD is associated with an increased risk of IS, independent of cardiovascular risk factors. DD is also associated with an increased risk of MI in individuals younger than 50 years of age. DD did not significantly aggravate mortality secondary to cardiovascular events.