This study aimed to evaluate the changes in weight and blood pressure in Korean adults who underwent tonsillectomy compared to controls. A nested case-control study used data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening Cohort (2002-2015). Tonsillectomy was defined using claim code Q2300. The changes in weight and systolic/diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) were measured before tonsillectomy and 1 year after tonsillectomy (study I) in some participants and during the second year after tonsillectomy (study II) in other participants. Patients who underwent tonsillectomy (n = 569 in study I; n = 556 in study II) were 1:4 matched with control participants (n = 2276 in study I; n = 2224 in study II). The paired t-test and linear mixed model were used to test the differences between groups at each time point. There were no changes in body mass index (p = 0.732 in study I; p = 0.128 in study II), SBP (p = 0.344 in study I; p = 0.559 in study II), or DBP (p = 0.826 in study I; p = 0.524 in study II) between the tonsillectomy patients and controls in the first or second year postoperatively. Subgroup analyses by age, sex, and degree of obesity showed consistent results. Tonsillectomy does not lead to a change in weight or blood pressure in Korean adults.
Keywords: blood pressure; body weight changes; population surveillance; tonsillectomy.