Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies may predict fatal heart disease

Associations between increased concentrations of antibodies to Chlamydia pneumoniae and ischaemic heart disease have been reported. The presence of C pneumoniae in atheromatous plaques lends biological plausibility to a causal link, but there have been few longitudinal studies of this association. On p 1035 Strachan et al present findings from a 13 year prospective study relating C pneumoniae seropositivity to the incidence of ischaemic heart disease and, for the first time, to mortality from ischaemic heart disease and all causes. Middle aged men with circulating IgA antibodies against C pneumoniae were at increased risk of death, mainly because of an excess of fatal ischaemic heart disease. This association was largely independent of conventional cardiovascular risk factors.

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Relation of Chlamydia pneumoniae serology to mortality and incidence of ischaemic heart disease over 13 years in the Caerphilly prospective heart disease study • Commentary: Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and ischaemic heart disease

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