Objective To investigate
associations of
herpes simplex virus(HSV)
infection with elevated high-
sensitivity C-reactive protein(
hsCRP)level and the development of
atrial fibrillation(AF) in
elderly individuals.
Methods Through
screening a total of 2,603 individuals,49
patients aged 60 years or over with AF and without structural
heart diseases and known
risk factors for AF were selected for
data collection.Fifty-five
elderly healthy control subjects were selected from a
population based
Chinese Arrhythmia Registry.Baseline characteristics,
plasma antibody levels against
HSV-1 and-2,and level of
hsCRP were analyzed.Results Level of
antibodies against
HSV-1 was significantly higher in AF
patients[(314.5±63.6)mg/L than in control subjects(216.0±50.7) mg/L,P<0.01].Level of
antibodies against
HSV-2 was significantly higher in AF
patients[(400.1±50.7) mg/L than in control subjects (306.3 ± 64.5) mg/L,P < 0.01].
Linear regression analysis demonstrated a positive correlation of
plasma levels of
hsCRP with both anti-
HSV-1 and anti-
HSV-2 IgG antibodies (r =0.291,0.188,all P < 0.01).In multiple
logistic regression analysis,
HSV-1 and
HSV-2 antibody levels were significantly associated with AF occurrence(OR =1.035 and 1.034,all P <0.01).The optimal cut-off point for predicting AF occurrence was 284.96 mg/L for anti-
HSV-1 with
sensitivity of 67.3% and a
specificity of 92.7%,and was 366.26 mg/L for anti-
HSV-2 with a
sensitivity of 67.3% and a
specificity of 85.5%,respectively.Conclusions The increased
plasma levels of anti-
HSV-1 and anti-
HSV-2 antibodies are significantly associated with AF occurrence in
elderly adults.