(HealthDay)—There is a strong and independent association between the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) and first-time myocardial infarction (MI), according to a research letter published recently in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Giorgia Grosso, M.D., from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues assessed the frequency of anti-β2-glycoprotein (anti-β2GPI) and anticardiolipin (anti-CL) of immunoglobulin G (IgG)/IgA/IgM isotypes and antinuclear antibodies among 805 patients with first-time MI (<75 years) and 805 matched control participants in a large multicenter study.
The researchers found that IgG anti-β2GPI and/or IgG anti-CL (aPL IgG-positive) were more common in patients with MI (11.1 percent) versus control participants (1.3 percent; P < 0.001). IgA/IgM isotypes did not differ. There was a strong correlation between anti-CL and anti-β2GPI of the same isotype. After adjustment for traditional risk factors, aPL IgG positivity (odds ratio, 7.8; P < 0.001) and current smoking (odds ratio, 2.6; P < 0.001) remained associated with MI, while diabetes, hypertension, and body mass index did not. Age did not differ among aPL IgG-positive and -negative patients with MI (P = 0.146), but aPL IgG positivity was nonsignificantly more common among women (P = 0.062) and current smokers (P = 0.085).
“If confirmed in long-term cohort studies, these findings may lead to improved management, treatment, and outcomes for many patients who have had or are at high risk for MI,” the authors write.
Source: Read Full Article