Papillomavirus infection increased the risk of death from cardiovascular disease in women
Korean scientists analysed a national medical registry and found that papillomavirus infection (HPV infection) is associated with an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. As reported in the European Heart Journal, after adjusting for traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors and comorbidities, the risk of death from complications of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease increased several-fold in women with infection.
Traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease include smoking, dyslipidaemia, high blood pressure and diabetes mellitus. However, in 20 per cent of cases their development is not associated with these factors, so the search for new modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease is crucial for the development of optimal strategies for the prevention and treatment of this class of diseases.
High-risk strains of human papillomaviruses are considered well-established risk factors for the development of anogenital cancer in women. However, several cross-sectional studies have shown an association between infection with these strains and the development of cardiovascular disease. However, no cohort study has evaluated the long-term outcomes of cardiovascular disease whose development is associated with HPV infection.
A team of scientists led by Seungho Ryu of Seongyungwan University conducted a large-scale cohort study of Korean women who tested positive for high-risk strains of human papillomaviruses to test the hypothesis of a link between infection and increased mortality from cardiovascular disease.
To do this, the researchers analysed a national health registry and used data from 163250 women. The mean age of the sample was 40.2 ± 9.7 years and body mass index and 22.0 ± 3.1 kilograms per square metre. The prevalence of HPV infection was 9.2 per cent. Women with infection were more likely to be older, smoked, consumed alcohol, and had arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and elevated blood cholesterol levels.
During 1380953 person-years of follow-up, there were 134 cardiovascular deaths. HPV infection was significantly associated with an increased risk of death from atherosclerotic heart disease and coronary heart disease. The adjusted relative risk of death in women with HPV infection was 3.56 for atherosclerotic heart disease and 3.36 for coronary heart disease.
The associations remained unchanged after additional adjustment for patients' lipid profiles. When risk stratified by obesity status, there was a trend towards a stronger association between infection and cardiovascular mortality (especially atherosclerosis).
Taken together, these data suggest that HPV infection increases in the population not only the risk of cardiovascular disease but also the risk of death from it. HPV vaccination could be an effective way to prevent not only pelvic malignancies but also the spread of heart and vascular disease.