Lack of association between serological evidence of past Coxiella burnetii infection and incident ischaemic heart disease: nested case-control study.
BACKGROUND
Coxiella burnetii causes the common worldwide zoonotic infection, Q fever. It has been previously suggested that patients who had recovered from acute Q fever (whether symptomatic or otherwise) may be at increased risk of ischaemic heart disease. We undertook this study to determine if past infection with Coxiella burnetii, the aetiological agent of Q fever, is a risk factor for the subsequent development of ischaemic heart disease.


METHODS
A nested case-control study within the Prospective Epidemiological Study of Myocardial Infarction (PRIME). The PRIME study is a cohort study of 10,593 middle-aged men undertaken in France and Northern Ireland in the 1990s. A total of 335 incident cases of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) were identified and each case was matched to 2 IHD free controls. Q fever seropositivity was determined using a commercial IgG ELISA method.


RESULTS
Seroprevalence of Q fever in the controls from Northern Ireland and France were 7.8% and 9.0% respectively. No association was seen between seropositivity and age, smoking, lipid levels, or inflammatory markers. The unadjusted odds ratio (95% CI) for Q fever seropositivity in cases compared to controls was 0.95 (0.59, 1.57). The relationship was substantially unaltered following adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors and potential confounders.


CONCLUSIONS
Serological evidence of past infection with C. burnetii was not found to be associated with an increased risk of IHD.
McCaughey
Conall
C
Regional Virus Laboratory, Royal Hospitals, Grosvenor Road, Belfast BT12 6BA, UK. conall.mccaughey@bll.n-i.nhs.uk
Murray
Liam J
LJ
McKenna
James P
JP
Coyle
Peter V
PV
O'Neill
Hugh J
HJ
Wyatt
Dorothy E
DE
Woodside
Jayne V
JV
Yarnell
John W G
JW
Ducimetiere
Pierre
P
Bingham
Annie
A
Amouyel
Philippe
P
Montaye
Michele
M
Arveiler
Dominique
D
Haas
Bernadette
B
Ferrieres
Jean
J
Ruidavets
Jean-Bernard
JB
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016997:Coxiella burnetii / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology*; D009660:Northern Ireland; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011778:Q Fever / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial