Infection With Dangerous Types Of HPV May Indicate A High Risk Of Heart Disease

Infection with dangerous types of HPV may indicate a high risk of heart disease

The most dangerous types of human papillomavirus (HPV), in addition to being at risk of cancer, can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, especially in obese women, according to a new Korean study published in the journal Circulation Research.

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There are a number of known risks of cardiovascular disease. These include: smoking, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, poor diet, obesity, and diabetes. However, for effective prevention, it is important to know other risks.

One of the potential risks is the most common sexually transmitted viral infection, HPV infection.

Certain strains of HPV have a high oncogenic risk: they can increase the risk of certain cancers, especially the cervix, vagina, vulva, penis, and pharynx and mouth. HPV infection often goes away without symptoms until cancer cells appear. Previous studies in women in the United States have linked HPV to previous heart attacks and strokes.

In a new Korean study, researchers examined the relationship between HPV and cardiovascular disease diagnosed during the study. After adjusting for other risk factors, women with HPV were 22% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than uninfected women.

The likelihood of cardiovascular disease increased even more when high-risk HPV was combined with obesity and metabolic syndrome: women with obesity were almost two-thirds more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, and women with metabolic syndrome were almost twice as likely at risk higher.

Factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption were also negatively affected. Interestingly, women who reported physical activity were also more likely to have high-risk HPV. In contrast, college education was associated with a reduced likelihood of having high-risk HPV.

Between 2011 and 2016, the study included 63,411 Korean women aged 30 and over without cardiovascular disease. Their average age was 40 years and their average body mass index (BMI) was 22. More than 7% of them were infected with high-risk HPV.

All participants underwent a routine DNA test for 13 high-risk HPV strains. There were several limitations in the study that could affect the results, including the possibility that HPV status may have changed during the course of the study, as infections sometimes go away on their own. In addition, the study was unable to determine the duration of HPV infection, and information on high-risk HPV was missing in more than a third of participants.