Peptic Ulcer Disease in Living Liver Donors: A Longitudinal Population‐Based Study

The objective of this nationwide cohort study was to investigate the risk of peptic ulcer disease (PUD) in living liver donors (LDs). A total of 1333 LDs and 5332 matched nondonors were identified during 2003–2011. Hospitalized patients identified as LDs were assigned to the LD cohort, and the non‐LD comparison cohort comprised age‐ and sex‐matched nondonors. Cumulative incidences and hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated. The overall incidence of PUD was 1.74‐fold higher in the LD cohort than in the non‐LD cohort (2.14 vs. 1.48 per 1000 person‐years). After adjustment for age, sex, monthly income and comorbidities, we determined that the LD cohort exhibited a higher risk of PUD than did the non‐LD cohort (adjusted HR 1.74, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.45–2.09). The incidence of PUD increased with age; the risk of PUD was 2.53‐fold higher in patients aged ≥35 years (95% CI 2.14–2.99) than in those aged ≤34 years. LDs with comorbidities of osteopathies, chondropathies and acquired musculoskeletal deformities exhibited a higher risk of PUD (adjusted HR 3.93, 95% CI 2.64–5.86) compared with those without these comorbidities. LDs are associated with an increased risk of PUD after hepatectomy. This nationwide longitudinal follow‐up study evaluates the incidence of peptic ulcer disease and its associated major complications in living liver donors and suggests these donors may have an increased risk of peptic ulcer disease after hepatectomy.