Contracting infectious diseases like dengue, typhoid, measles, chicken pox, bronchitis, tuberculosis in childhood can put you at a higher risk of suffering heart attack in adulthood, findings of a new study suggest.
The risk compounds further for those who enjoy an unhealthy lifestyle, researchers warn.
Explaining the probable reason behind the increased risk, Andriany Qanitha from Academic Medical Centre of Amsterdam in the Netherlands said, “One explanation is that infection initiates chronic inflammation and atherosclerosis in the arteries.”
“It could (also) be that infection modifies cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and leads to ACS,” Qanitha added.
The study
The findings of the study are based on a population-based case-control trail of 153 patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). These study subjects had suffered heart attack before the age of 56 years.
153 age- and sex-matched individuals with no history of ACS formed the control group.
Using detailed questionnaires, the researchers gathered information on history of infection – infancy and pre-school (0-5 years), elementary school (6-13 years), junior high school (14-17 years), and senior high school (18-21 years).
The results revealed that individuals who had suffered from infectious diseases during childhood and adolescence were three times more likely to have experienced a premature heart attack.
The findings of the study were presented at an Acute Cardiovascular Care Association meeting held in Vienna, Austria.
