Takeaway
- Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) seropositivity was not associated with an increased risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD), ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke.
Why this matters
- Future research is warranted on CVD subtypes that have been under-investigated, including stroke subtypes, and in more diverse populations, particularly those of non-White ethnicity.
Study design
- The study involved 8531 UK Biobank participants (age, 40-69 years) without prevalent CVD and with valid HCMV serostatus data.
- The associations between HCMV seropositivity and incident CVD, IHD and stroke were evaluated.
- Funding: None.
Key results
- Of 8531 participants, 4938 (57.9%) were seropositive and 3593 (42.1%) were seronegative for HCMV.
- Over a mean follow-up of 10.2 years, HCMV seropositivity was not significantly associated with an increased risk of (adjusted HR [aHR]; 95% CI):
- CVD (1.01; 0.86-1.20);
- IHD (1.03; 0.87-1.24); and
- stroke (0.96; 0.68-1.36).
- No dose-response associations were observed between HCMV seropositivity and incident CVD, IHD and stroke.
Limitations
- UK Biobank may not be entirely representative of the general population because of healthy volunteer selection bias.
- Study population was predominantly White.
This clinical summary originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.
