Prevalence of intracranial aneurysm in patients with aortic disease in Korea: A nationwide population-based study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Patients with aortic disease (AD) might have a higher prevalence of intracranial aneurysm (IA). The present study evaluated the prevalence of IA in patients with AD and identified potential risk factors of IA using nationwide representative cohort sample data. METHODS AND RESULTS: We defined AD as both aortic dissections and aortic aneurysms. This study used a nationwide representative cohort sample from the Korea National Health Insurance Service–National Sample Cohort database from 1.1million patients. Using χ2 or Fisher’s exact tests, the prevalence of the IA in patients with AD and potential risk factors for their concur-rence were analyzed. The prevalence of IA in patients with AD was 6.8% (155/2285). The adjusted odds ratios (OR) for having concurrent IA in patients with AD was 3.809 (95% CI, 3.191–4.546; P<0.01). Patients with AD and hypertension were >19 times more likely to be affected by IA (adjusted OR, 18.679; 95% CI, 16.555–21.076; P<0.01). Patients with AD and diabetes mellitus, old age (>60 years), and male sex were >4, 3, and 2 times more likely to be affected by IA, respectively (adjusted OR, 4.291, 3.469, and 1.983, respectively; 95% CI, 3.914–4.704, 3.152–3.878, and 1.779–2.112, respectively). Subgroup analysis with socioeconomic status or disability revealed that the prevalence of IA was significantly higher in all groups. CONCLUSIONS: In the current population-based study, the prevalence of IA in patients with AD was quadrupled compared with that in the general population. Early IA screening might be considered among patients with AD for appropriate management.