Cytomegalovirus Infection and Coronary Heart Disease: Results of a German Case-Control Study

Rothenbacher, D.
Hoffmeister, A.
Bode, G.
Wanner, P.
Koenig, W.
Brenner, H.

Departments of Epidemiology, Cardiology, and Gastroenterology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany

Reprints or correspondence: Dr. Dietrich Rothenbacher, Dept. of Epidemiology, University of Ulm, D-89069 Ulm, Germany.

Received 26 June 1998; revised 14 October 1998.

The study was approved by the ethics committee, University of Ulm.

Financial support: Astra, Wedel, Germany; Medac, Hamburg, Germany.

Journal of Infectious Diseases 179(3):p 690-692, March 1999. | DOI: 10.1086/314634

This case-control study investigated whether previous infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV) was associated with coronary heart disease (CHD). In total, 312 patients of German nationality aged 40-68 years who had a coronary stenosis of > 50% of the luminal diameter were recruited for study. Controls (n = 479) were voluntary blood donors. CMV serology was performed to determine presence of specific CMV antibodies (IgG, IgM, IgAELA test; Medac, Hamburg, Germany). Rheologic and inflammatory markers were determined. The prevalence of specific IgG antibodies against CMV was 54.5% in cases and 49.9% in controls (P = .116). The odds ratio for CHD was 1.21 (95% confidence interval, 0.84-1.75) given a positive serostatus of specific IgG antibodies after adjustment for covariates. With the exception of C-reactive protein in controls, none of the rheologic or inflammatory markers was associated with CMV serostatus. Thus, serologic evidence of previous infection with CMV was not a major risk factor for CHD in this population.