The risk of stroke increases at this time of year when the cold wind blows and the temperature drops significantly. People with high blood pressure or heart disease are known to have a high risk of stroke, but tuberculosis patients or patients being treated for tuberculosis also need special attention. In the latest issue of Stroke, an academic journal with high authority in the field of stroke, a study was published that tuberculosis is a risk factor for stroke.
The results of a study that tuberculosis is a risk factor for stroke have been published by a research team in Korea ㅣ Source: Getty Image Bank
Risk factors that increase the risk of developing tuberculosis and stroke
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in four people worldwide is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In 2020, there were approximately 9.87 million cases of tuberculosis and approximately 1.49 million deaths due to tuberculosis. The number of new tuberculosis patients in Korea in 2020 was 19,933, a decrease of 16.3% from the previous year (23,821), but it is still first in terms of tuberculosis cases and third in tuberculosis deaths among 38 countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Samsung Seoul Hospital Professor of Family Medicine Shin Dong-wook, International Medical Center Clinical Instructor Lee Han-lim, Hanyang University Respiratory Allergy Professor Lee Hyun-ho and his research team followed tuberculosis and non-tuberculosis patients for an average of 3.8 years based on health check data from the National Health Insurance Corporation.
Between January 2010 and December 2017, the research team selected 72,863 people confirmed to have tuberculosis in a health examination and a control group of the same age and sex, and examined the factors that affect the onset of brain infarction, such as obesity, smoking. history, alcohol consumption, and amount of activity The association between tuberculosis and stroke was compared and analyzed reflecting all factors such as income, area of residence, and co-morbidity index. As a result, they found that tuberculosis alone increased the risk of stroke by 22% compared to those who did not. This means that tuberculosis is an independent risk factor that increases the risk of stroke.
The immune response and inflammation have been shown to affect the cardiovascular system.
The research team estimated that the reason why tuberculosis affects stroke is that the immune response and inflammation caused by tuberculosis puts stress on the cardiovascular system, increasing the risk of cerebral infarction. In addition, in the case of tuberculosis patients, the number and activity of the platelets tend to increase. For this reason, the research team emphasized that not only tuberculosis patients and their families, but also medical staff responsible for treatment should be aware of the risk of stroke and deal with it.
Professor Shin Dong-wook, who led the study, said, “Many tuberculosis patients are elderly and more prone to stroke. Until now, tuberculosis experts have thought that tuberculosis control ends when tuberculosis treatment stops. However, in order to reduce the disease burden caused by tuberculosis in the long term, health policies are needed that prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases such as stroke or other non-pulmonary complications in tuberculosis survivors.
Tuberculosis can be cured with regular treatment
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. When tuberculosis bacilli enter our body, infection can occur anywhere in the body. The cause of tuberculosis is a disease where the tuberculosis bacillus enters the body and causes inflammation and infectious diseases in the body. The main symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis, which account for most cases of tuberculosis, are cough △phlegm △hemoptysis △fever △loss of appetite △weight loss.
Tuberculosis is a disease that can be cured with regular treatment, but has a higher mortality rate than other infectious diseases. It is the 13th leading cause of death worldwide due to the relatively long treatment period and the large number of medications that must be taken. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is difficult to work with general antibiotics because of its slow growth and rigid structure. Therefore, anti-tuberculosis drugs are used that are effective against tuberculosis bacilli, and tuberculosis bacilli can only be removed when they are taken regularly.
