Hidradenitis Suppurativa patients with smoking history have higher mortality risk: Study

A new study published in International Journal of Dermatology shows that patients with Hidradenitis Suppurativa who have high incidence of smoking have a significantly higher chance of dying from multiple cause, including cardiovascular or cerebrovascular reasons.

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) causes significant morbidity. Few researchers have looked at the natural history and mortality rates of HS. A greater risk of cardiovascular mortality has been documented in HS patients. As a result, John J. Kohorst and colleagues undertook this study to determine if patients with HS had an elevated overall risk of mortality when compared to age- and gender-matched controls. Using age- and gender-matched referents and incident HS between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 2008, a retrospective cohort analysis of Olmsted County, Minnesota inhabitants was conducted. The overall and cause-specific risks of mortality were the primary outcomes and metrics.

The key findings of this study were:

1. During the study period, researchers found 226 incident instances of HS and 678 referents who were age and gender matched.

2. Patients with HS had a substantially increased risk of mortality from any cause (hazard ratio [HR], 2.48; 95% CI, 1.53-4.03, P 0.001) and death from cardiovascular or cerebrovascular causes (HR, 2.85; 95% CI, 1.10-7.40, P = 0.03) when compared to referents.

3. All-cause HR was 1.65 (95% CI, 0.97-2.82, P = 0.07) and cardiovascular or cerebrovascular-related HR was 2.03 (95% CI, 0.71-5.81, P = 0.18), however these risks were reduced after accounting for smoking history.

4. At the time of HS diagnosis, 71% of patients smoked, either now or in the past.

In conclusion, the Authors found that the results of this study clearly suggests that due to a high incidence of smoking history, patients with HS are more likely succumb to any cause.

Reference: 

Kohorst, J. J., Ghanavatian, S., Davis, M. D. P., Weaver, A. L., Schleck, C. D., & Swanson, D. L. (2022). Long‐term risk of death in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa. In International Journal of Dermatology. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijd.16409