Can HTLV-1 infection be a potential risk factor for atherosclerosis?

Chronic inflammations including infectious disorders such as HIV infection are now considered as risk factors for atherosclerosis. In this study, conducted for the first time on human subjects, human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection was examined as a potential risk factor for atherosclerosis.

This is a matched-pair cross-sectional study on 58 HTLV-1-infected cases and 55 healthy control subjects. The subjects did not have any major cerebrovascular risk factors. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) was measured for each patient using the standard protocol of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.

The mean age of the subjects was 42.9 ± 10.52 years, and males made up 33% of the population. The difference between the mean IMT of the infected case group and that of the healthy control group was significant (p < 0.05).

This study indicated that the HTLV-infected individuals showed a greater carotid IMT than the age- and sex-matched control subjects. Observing no other known risk factor for atherosclerosis, we concluded that this significant difference in IMT might support the hypothesis that HTLV-1 infection is an independent risk factor for atherogenesis.