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Association between pleural plaques and coronary heart disease
O Korhola1, A Hiltunen, A Karjalainen
1Helsinki University Central Hospital, Department of Radiology, Finland.
Insights
Patients with coronary heart disease showed a higher prevalence of calcified pleural plaques. This finding suggests a potential link between coronary artery disease and pleural plaque formation.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Cardiology
- Radiology
Background:
- Calcified pleural plaques are often associated with asbestos exposure.
- A clinical observation suggested a higher frequency of these plaques in patients with coronary heart disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between coronary heart disease and calcified pleural plaques.
- To compare the prevalence of calcified pleural plaques in coronary heart disease patients versus lung cancer patients.
Main Methods:
- Chest X-rays from 148 coronary angiography patients and 100 lung cancer patients were analyzed.
- Calcified pleural plaques were identified using the International Labour Office classification.
- A generalized linear model was used to calculate relative risks and 95% confidence intervals.
Main Results:
- The prevalence of calcified pleural plaques was 35% in coronary patients and 19% in lung cancer patients.
- Plaques were more common in men and increased with age.
- The adjusted relative risk of plaques in coronary patients compared to lung cancer patients was 2.19 (95% CI 1.44-3.32).
Conclusions:
- Coronary heart disease patients have a significantly higher risk of calcified pleural plaques.
- Further research is needed to explore the relationship with asbestos exposure and potential shared risk factors.
- The association may indicate an etiologic link or a common susceptibility factor.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to verify a clinical impression that patients with coronary heart disease disproportionately frequently have calcified pleural plaques.
Methods:
Chest X-rays were collected from 148 patients referred consecutively to the Helsinki University Central Hospital for coronary angiography and from 100 consecutive lung cancer patients seen at the same hospital. The radiographs were analyzed for the presence of calcified pleural plaques according to the classification the International Labour Office. A generalized linear model with binomial distribution and log link was used to estimate the relative risks and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).
Results:
The prevalence of calcified pleural plaques was 35% for the coronary patients and 19% for the lung cancer patients. Calcified pleural plaques were more common among the men than the women, and the risk increased with age. The relative risk of calcified pleural plaques, adjusted for age and gender, was 2.19 (95% CI 1.44-3.32) for the coronary patients as compared with the lung cancer patients.
Conclusions:
Further studies with better information on past exposure to asbestos and other potential risk factors are warranted to confirm the observations and to examine whether the association between coronary heart disease and calcified pleural plaques is related to an etiologic or an individual susceptibility factor common to both of these conditions.