Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies and angiographically demonstrated coronaryartery disease in a sample population from Italy

Recent reports suggest an association between Chlamydia pneumoniae and chro nic coronary heart disease. This case-control study investigates the relati onship between the presence of immunoglobin G (IgG) and immunoglobin A (IgA ) when measured by means of microimmunofluorescence (MIF) and angiographica lly diagnosed coronary disease. Cases (n = 150) were angiography patients w ith at least one coronary artery lesion occupying at least 50% of the lumin al diameter. Controls (n = 49) were angiography patients with no detectable signs of coronary artery disease and patients (n = 56) without signs or sy mptoms of coronary disease and with normal ECG results. No significant diff erences were revealed between the seroprevalence of IgG and IgA and geometr ic mean titers (GMT) as measured in cases and controls. When cases were com pared with controls whose angiographic results were normal, after adjusting for established risk factors(cholesterol, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, age, gender and family history), the estimated risk of coronary artery dis ease was 0.79 (95% confidence interval (C.I.), 0.31-1.99) for the presence of IgG and was 0.94 (95% C.I., 0.37-2.39) for IgA. When cases were compared with controls with normal ECG results, the adjusted odds ratio (O.R.) for coronary artery disease was 1.17 (95% C.I., 0.52-2.62) for the presence of Ige and 0.82 (95% C.I., 0.36-1.86) for the presence of IgA. These results d o not support an association between C. pneumoniae infection and coronary d isease. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.