title: Ischaemic heart disease and Cag A strains of Helicobacter pylori in the Caerphilly heart disease study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To look for the presence of the more virulent strains of Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) in men who developed ischaemic heart disease over a 10 year period and in controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Caerphilly prospective heart disease study recruited 2512 men aged 45-59 years during 1979-83. Western blot analysis or enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed on serum taken from those who subsequently died of ischaemic heart disease, or developed non-fatal myocardial infarction, to determine H pylori and Cag A status. Similar information was available on age matched controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the first decade of the study, 312 men died of ischaemic heart disease or developed non-fatal myocardial infarction. Serum was available from 172 of these (55%). There was no evidence of an association between Cag A seropositivity and incident ischaemic heart disease or ischaemic heart disease mortality, either before or after adjustment for potential confounders (adjusted odds ratios 1.18 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.76 to 1.85) and 1.13 (95% CI 0.61 to 2.07), respectively). Further, the odds ratios for ischaemic heart disease incidence and ischaemic heart disease mortality by H pylori seropositivity did not appear to depend on the presence or absence of Cag A strains (p = 0.76 and 0.77, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this cohort of middle aged men, followed over a 10 year period, there is little evidence of an association between Cag A seropositivity and either incident ischaemic heart disease or ischaemic heart disease mortality.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, St George's Hospital Medical School, London SW17, UK.
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Risley
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Markus
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Butland
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Strachan
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Elwood
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mendall
mesh_terms: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C080866:cagA protein, Helicobacter pylori