Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Apr 1;225(7):1179-1188.
doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiab364.

Human Cytomegalovirus and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease in United Kingdom Biobank

Elizabeth M Hamilton  1 , Naomi E Allen  1 , Alexander J Mentzer  2 , Thomas J Littlejohns  1
Affiliations

Human Cytomegalovirus and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease in United Kingdom Biobank

Elizabeth M Hamilton et al. J Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have yielded conflicting results on the association between human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study examined associations between HCMV and incident CVD, ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke.

Methods: This study included 8531 women and men of predominantly white ethnic background, aged 40-69 without prevalent CVD from the population-based UK Biobank study, recruited between 2006-2010 with HCMV antibody levels measured. CVD was ascertained via linkage to health administrative records collected until 2020. Multivariate Cox proportional-hazards models were used to determine associations between HCMV seropositivity and incident CVD, IHD and stroke. HCMV seropositive antibody levels in tertiles were used to assess dose-response associations.

Results: Over a mean follow-up period of 10.2 years, HCMV seropositivity was not significantly associated with CVD (Cases = 626, Hazard Ratio [HR] =1.01, 95% confidence interval [CI], .86-1.20), IHD (Cases = 539, HR=1.03, 95% CI, .87-1.24) or stroke (Cases = 144, HR = 0.96, 95% CI, .68-1.36). There was no evidence of dose-response associations with any outcome.

Conclusions: We found no significant association between HCMV seropositivity and risk of CVD, IHD or stroke. Further research within understudied populations, such as those of non-white ethnicity, and CVD subtypes is warranted.

Keywords: UK Biobank; cardiovascular disease; human cytomegalovirus; ischemic heart disease; longitudinal; stroke.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow diagram showing participant selection for inclusion in the study. Abbreviations: IHD, ischemic heart disease; UKB, UK Biobank.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
A–C, Nelson-Aalen curves of cumulative hazard of cardiovascular events by human cytomegalovirus status.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
A–C, Association between HCMV-seropositive antibody tertiles compared to seronegative participants and incident cardiovascular disease. HR (95% CI) for seropositive tertiles are presented. Antibody group log(E)transformed MFI ranges: low antibody group, 6–7.3; middle antibody group, 7.4–7.9; high antibody group 8.0–8.3. Models adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic deprivation, education, smoking, alcohol, physical activity, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, diabetes, aspirin, cholesterol-lowering, or antihypertensive use, low-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides. Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; HCMV, human cytomegalovirus; HR, hazard ratio; MFI, median fluorescence intensity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Reply to letter Yates et al.
    Hamilton EM, Allen NE, Mentzer AJ, Littlejohns TJ. Hamilton EM, et al. J Infect Dis. 2022 Apr 1;225(7):1303-1304. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiab572. J Infect Dis. 2022. PMID: 35024816 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

References

    1. Vyse AJ, Hesketh LM, Pebody RG. The burden of infection with cytomegalovirus in England and Wales: how many women are infected in pregnancy? Epidemiol Infect 2009; 137:526–33. - PubMed
    1. Du Y, Zhang G, Liu Z. Human cytomegalovirus infection and coronary heart disease: a systematic review. Virol J 2018; 15:1–10. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang H, Naghavi M, Allen C, et al. . Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all-cause mortality, and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 1980–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet 2016; 388:1459–544. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang H, Peng G, Bai J, et al. . Cytomegalovirus infection and relative risk of cardiovascular disease (ischemic heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular death): a meta-analysis of prospective studies up to 2016. J Am Heart Assoc 2017; 6:e005025. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fagerberg B, Gnarpe J, Gnarpe H, Agewall S, Wikstrand J. Chlamydia pneumoniae but not cytomegalovirus antibodies are associated with future risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease: a prospective study in middle-aged to elderly men with treated hypertension. Stroke 1999; 30:299–305. - PubMed

Publication types