RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the risk of developing depressive disorder (DD) following diagnosis with cholesteatoma. METHODS: In the study, we analyzed data from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database of Taiwan. A total of 599 patients newly diagnosed with cholesteatoma between 1997 and 2007 were included with a comparison cohort of 2995 matched non-cholesteatoma enrollees. Each patient was followed for 3 years to identify the subsequent development of DD. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was performed to compute adjusted 3-year hazard ratios. RESULTS: The incidence of DD per thousand person-years was approximately twice as high among patients with cholesteatoma (11.32) as among those without cholesteatoma (5.85). After adjusting for potential confounders, patients with cholesteatoma were 1.99 times (95% CI=1.18-3.34, P=0.010) more likely to suffer from DD within 3 years compared to those without cholesteatoma. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to demonstrate a link between cholesteatoma and subsequent DD within a three-year followup. We suggest that clinicians keep this critical but neglected issue in mind and carefully investigate the possibility of subsequent psychological problems among cholesteatoma patients.