Association of Acute Myocardial Infarction with Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament in Korea: A Nationwide Longitudinal Cohort Study

Abstract

Objective: This nationally matched longitudinal study aimed to investigate the relationship between acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) in Korea.Methods: We collected patient data from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2015 from the National Health Insurance Service Health Screening Cohort. Patients with OPLL were defined as patients with the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision code M48.8 (other specified spondylopathies) and were newly diagnosed through computed tomography imaging. The OPLL group had a total of 1,289 patients. The control group included 6,445 people. Utilizing the Kaplan-Meier technique, The incidence of AMI in both groups was estimated. A Cox proportional-hazards regression analysis was used to compute the AMI hazard ratio.Results: After controlling for age and sex, the hazard ratio of AMI in the OPLL group was 2.065 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.228-3.474). The adjusted hazard ratio in the OPLL group was 2.209 after restricting the sample for demographics and concomitant medical conditions (95% CI, 1.311-3.721). In a subgroup analysis, the incidence of AMI was substantially greater in the OPLL group, which included women younger than 65 years and without hypertension, diabetes, or dyslipidemia.Conclusion: This nationwide longitudinal study found that patients with OPLL were at higher risk of AMI.