A study published today in eLife suggests that infection with a bacterium that causes gum disease and bad breath may increase the risk of heart disease. The study recommends that physicians check for other possible risk factors to identify those at risk for heart disease. It may also mean that treatments for the oral bacterium Fusobacterium nucleatum may help reduce the risk of heart disease. Heart disease, which accounts for about one-third of all deaths globally, is caused by genetic and environmental risk factors.
Coronary heart disease, the most common type of heart disease, is caused by a build-up of plaque in the arteries that supply blood to the heart, and can also cause blockages that lead to heart attacks. Previous research links certain infections to a higher risk of plaque buildup. Flavia Hodel, former PhD student at the School of Life Sciences, EPFL, Switzerland. “We wanted to help fill some of the gaps in our understanding of coronary heart disease by taking a more comprehensive look at the role of infection.”
Hodl and colleagues analyzed genetic information, health data and blood samples from a subset of 3,459 people participating in the CoLaus|PsyCoLaus Study – a Swiss population-based cohort. Of the 3,459 participants, about 6 percent experienced a heart attack or other harmful cardiovascular event during the 12-year follow-up period. The team tested participants’ blood samples for antibodies against 15 different viruses, six bacteria and one parasite.
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Once the authors adjusted the results for known cardiovascular risk factors, they found that F. nucleatum, indicating past or current infection by the bacterium, were associated with a slightly increased cardiovascular event risk. “F. nucleatum may contribute to cardiovascular risk through increased systemic inflammation due to the presence of bacteria in the mouth, or through direct colonization of artery walls or plaque on artery walls,” Hodel explains.
The authors also confirmed that individuals with higher genetic risk scores for coronary heart disease are at higher risk for cardiovascular events, as shown by previous studies. If future studies confirm an association between F. nucleatum and heart disease, the authors say it could lead to new approaches to identifying those people or preventing cardiovascular events. There is an increased risk of coronary heart disease and heart attack,” said senior author Jacques Faille, a professor at the School of Life Sciences, EPFL and head of the Precision Medicine Unit at the Lausanne University Hospital and the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. could lead to new methods of identifying at-risk individuals or lay the foundation for studies of preventive interventions that protect the heart from F. nucleatum treat infections.”