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Risk factors for coronary heart disease and persistent infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae or cytomegalovirus: a

J Danesh1, Y Wong, M Ward

  • 1Clinical Trial Service Unit, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, UK. john.danesh@balliol.ox.ac.uk

Journal of Cardiovascular Risk
|May 19, 2000
PubMed

Insights

Persistent infections with Chlamydia pneumoniae and cytomegalovirus show limited links to common vascular risk factors. This suggests these factors may not significantly influence the observed coronary heart disease associations.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular epidemiology
  • Infectious disease research
  • Vascular health

Background:

  • Epidemiological studies link coronary heart disease to persistent Chlamydia pneumoniae and cytomegalovirus infections.
  • Research on the relationship between these infections and vascular risk factors is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate correlations between serum antibodies for C. pneumoniae and cytomegalovirus.
  • To assess associations with vascular risk factors, inflammation markers, and socioeconomic status.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional sero-epidemiological study within a randomized trial.
  • Involved 704 individuals from five general practices in Bedfordshire, UK.
  • Measured vascular risk factors, inflammation markers, and other characteristics.

Main Results:

  • C. pneumoniae antibodies correlated with male sex and smoking (2P < 0.01).
  • Cytomegalovirus antibodies correlated with age (2P < 0.001).
  • No significant associations found with other measured factors.

Conclusions:

  • Serological evidence of persistent C. pneumoniae or cytomegalovirus infection is not strongly linked to most vascular risk factors.
  • These risk factors are unlikely to confound or mediate reported associations with coronary heart disease.
Abstract

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