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Chlamydia pneumoniae IgA titres and coronary heart disease; prospective study and meta-analysis

J Danesh1, P Whincup, S Lewington

  • 1Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

European Heart Journal
|February 16, 2002
PubMed

Insights

Neither Chlamydia pneumoniae IgA nor IgG antibody titres strongly predict coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in the general population. Further research is needed to understand the role of C. pneumoniae infection in cardiovascular disease.

Area of Science:

  • Infectious Disease Epidemiology
  • Cardiovascular Disease Research
  • Immunoserology

Background:

  • Chlamydia pneumoniae infection has been investigated as a potential risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD).
  • Previous studies have primarily focused on IgG antibody titres, with less known about the predictive value of IgA titres.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between Chlamydia pneumoniae IgA antibody titres and the incidence of coronary heart disease.
  • To compare these associations with previously reported findings for C. pneumoniae IgG titres.

Main Methods:

  • Serum IgA antibody concentrations to C. pneumoniae were measured in a nested case-control study of 502 CHD cases and 1005 controls from a prospective study of 5661 British men.
  • A meta-analysis of published prospective studies on C. pneumoniae IgA titres and CHD was conducted to contextualize the findings.

Main Results:

  • The study found an odds ratio of 1.84 (95% CI 1.40-2.43) for CHD associated with high C. pneumoniae IgA titres in the nested case-control analysis.
  • Meta-analysis of ten studies, including the present one, yielded a combined odds ratio of 1.25 (95% CI 1.03-1.53) for CHD with C. pneumoniae IgA titres.
  • This combined IgA odds ratio was comparable to the reported odds ratio for C. pneumoniae IgG titres (1.15, 95% CI 0.97-1.36).

Conclusions:

  • Neither Chlamydia pneumoniae IgA nor IgG antibody titres appear to be strong predictors of coronary heart disease in the general population.
  • The findings suggest that the role of C. pneumoniae infection in the pathogenesis of CHD may be limited or complex.
Abstract

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