Education:
M.D. -National Taiwan University
Ph.D. -Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University Joint Ph.D. Program of Translational Medicine
Position:
- Associate Professor, Graduate Institute of Medical Genomics and Proteomics, Medical College, National Taiwan University
- Attending Physician, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, National Taiwan University Hospital
- Vice CEO, Center for Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital
During a median of >7 years of follow-up, 491 individuals developed incident tuberculosis. Compared with normal-weight individuals, obese individuals (>30 kg/m2) had a 67% (95% confidence interval [CI], −3% to −90%) and 64% (31%–81%) reduction in tuberculosis hazard in the 2 cohorts. In the causal mediation analysis, obesity had a harmful effect on tuberculosis mediated through diabetes (0.8% and 2.7% increased odds in the 2 cohorts, respectively) but had a strongly protective effect not mediated through diabetes (72% and 67% decreased odds, respectively). Individuals who were simultaneously obese and diabetic had a lower but statistically insignificant risk of tuberculosis (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.30; 95% CI, .08–1.22) compared with nondiabetic normal-weight individuals.