Chlamydia pneumoniae , Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1, and Cytomegalovirus and Incident Myocardial Infarction and Coronary Heart Disease Death in Older Adults

Abstract

Background —Whether serological evidence of prior infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae , herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), and cytomegalovirus (CMV) is associated with myocardial infarction (MI) and coronary heart disease (CHD) death remains a source of controversy. Methods and Results —We conducted a nested case-control study among participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a cohort study of persons aged ≥65 years. Cases experienced an incident MI and CHD death (n=213). Control subjects were matched to cases by age, sex, clinic, year of enrollment, and month of blood draw (n=405). Serum was analyzed for IgG antibodies to C pneumoniae , HSV-1, and CMV. After adjustment for other risk factors, the risk of MI and CHD death was associated with the presence of IgG antibodies to HSV-1 (odds ratio [OR] 2.0, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.6) but was not associated with the presence of IgG antibodies to either C pneumoniae (OR 1.1, 95% CI 0.7 to 1.8) or CMV (OR 1.2, 95% CI 0.7 to 1.9). Although there was little association with low to moderate C pneumoniae antibody titers (≤1:512), high-titer (1:1024) C pneumoniae antibody was associated with an increased risk (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 4.4). Conclusions —Among older adults, the presence of IgG antibodies to HSV-1 was associated with a 2-fold increase in the risk of incident MI and CHD death. For C pneumoniae , only high-titer IgG antibodies were associated with an increased risk of MI and CHD death. The presence of IgG antibodies to CMV was not associated with risk among the elderly.