Human T Lymphotropic Virus Type I (HTLV-I) is a Risk Factor for Coronary Artery Disease

Few studies have shown the association between HTLV-I infection and coronary artery disease (CAD). HTLV-I has been detected in heart autopsies, particularly in lymphoma\leukemia cases. Mashhad and Neyshabour (Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran) are endemic regions for HTLV-I. Therefore, the present study was carried out to evaluate the impact of HTLV-I on CAD in Neyshabourian patients. 7590 patients admitted to Razavi and Imam Reza Hospitals (2007-2008) were included in this study. The seroprevalance of HTLV-I infection was determined by the ELISA method and confirmed with the PCR method. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS software. Out of the 7590 studied subjects, 564 patients were born and had resided in Neyshabour. The HTLV-I sero-prevalence among these subjects was 13% (n=73). 294 subjects had an abnormal angiography (CAD) and among them 43 (14.6%) were sero-positive for HTLV-I. In the remaining 227 subjects who had a normal angiography, 30 cases were HTLV-I seropositve. The PCR test was performed on 35 cases in order to confirm the presence of infection, which was positive in 31. Regarding the initial population of 294, the rate of PCR-confirmed infection was 10.54%. This sero-prevalence of HTLV-I in subjects with heart complications in Neyshabour was nearly 3 times more than the general population of this city (10.5 % vs 3.4%). However, the results of this study show that in addition to HTLV-I infection, there might be other co-factors leading to the development of heart complications in Neyshabour.