Anti-Cardiolipin antibodies and risk of coronary heart disease a hospital-based case-control study

ABSTRACT

Data concerning the relation between anticardiolipin [aCL] antibodies and coronary heart disease [CLID] in subjects without evidence of overt autoimmune disease are conflicting. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the presence of aCL antibodies, carries a risk for CHD in a hospital-based case-control study. Using IgG aCL antibody as a risk factor of CHD, a hospital-based case-control study of CHD was conducted in Isfahan, Iran. We examined the sera of 50 CHD cases, aged 10-84 years [mean [Standard Deviation [SD]] 59.7 [12.8] and 100 hospital based controls aged 25-90 [mean [SD] 58.7 [13.7]]. The controls were non-CHD patients, selected from the same hospital as the cases and matched for gender, marital status and age [ +/- 5 years]. Samples were tested for IgG-class antibodies to cardiolipin by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]. The prevalence of aCL antibody was 2% [95% confidence interval [CI 0.05 to 10.7]] for cases and 5% [95% CI 1,6 to 11.3] for controls and this differences was not statistically significant [odds ratio [95% CI] 0.4 [0.04 to 3.4]]. The odds ratio for IgG aCL antibody did not suggest an increase risk. The mean [SD] of IgG aCL antibody level was higher in control subjects than in patients [2.7 [2.0] versus 4.7 [7.6]; P=0.07]. In a hospital-based. case-control study, the presence of a high IgG aCL antibody level is not an independent risk factor for CHD