A VIRUS that's previously been linked to seven types of cancer could also increase the risk of heart disease, say researchers.
In the UK, the virus is very common – an estimated 80 per centof sexually active adults will be infected at some point in their lives.
The link between human papillomavirus (HPV)and heart disease and coronary artery disease was made in a study carried out by the American College of Cardiology study.
HPV is a group of viruses spread through sex.
While they don't usually cause any problems, some types can cause genital warts or cancer – including cervical, vulvar, vaginal, penile, anal, oropharyngeal (mouth and throat), and some types of head and neck cancer.
The study is the first to assess the association by pooling data from several global studies involving 250,000 patients.
“Our study shows that clearly there is an association of some kind between HPV and cardiovascular disease,” said Stephen Akinfenwa, an internal medicine resident at UConn School of Medicine in Farmington, Connecticut, and the study's lead author.
“The biological mechanism has not been determined but is hypothesised to be related to chronic inflammation.
“We would ultimately like to see if reducing HPV via vaccination could reduce cardiovascular risk.”
For the meta-analysis, researchers identified seven studies conducted between 2011 and 2024 that included data on HPV status and cardiovascular outcomes across a follow-up time of three years to 17 years.
Three of the studies were from the United States, two were from South Korea, one was from Brazil and one was from Australia.
The researchers used several statistical approaches to extract data on the relationship between HPV and cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease (a condition when plaque builds up in the heart's arteries, reducing blood flow to the heart) and high blood pressure.
Some of the analyses also adjusted for potential variables such as smoking, diabetes and other known heart disease risk factors.
The results showed HPV-positive patients had a 40 per cent higher likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease and twice the risk of developing coronary artery disease compared with HPV-negative patients.
Even after adjusting for variables such as medical history and lifestyle behaviours, the relationship between HPV and heart disease remained – HPV-positive patients had a 33 per cent higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease compared to those without HPV.
Based on the findings, Akinfenwa said said health professionals could consider closer heart monitoring for people who test positive for HPV.
“We always talk about cardiovascular risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure and so on, but we know that about 20 per cent of cardiovascular disease cannot be explained by these conventional risk factors,” Akinfenwa said.
“This makes it important to identify non-conventional risk factors like HPV that could potentially be targeted.”
But he added further research is needed to better understand the strength and mechanisms of the link between HPV and heart disease, as well as the potential role of HPV vaccination in preventing cardiovascular problems.
Symptoms of HPV
HPV doesn't usually cause any symptoms, and most people who have it don't realise.
But in some cases the virus can cause painless growths or lumps around your vagina, penis or anus (genital warts).
Many types of HPV affect the mouth, throat or genital area and are easy to catch – you don't need to have penetrative sex.
You can get HPV from:
- any skin-to-skin contact of the genital area
- vaginal, anal or oral sex
- sharing sex toys
HPV testing is part of cervical screening, there's no blood test.
But cervical screening is offered to all women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 to help protect against cervical cancer.
How to protect yourself against HPV
YOU cannot fully protect yourself against HPV, but there are things that can help.
- Condoms can help protect you against HPV, but they do not cover all the skin around your genitals, so you're not fully protected.
- The HPV vaccine protects against the types of HPV that cause most cases of genital warts and cervical cancer, as well as some other cancers. It does not protect against all types of HPV.
HPV vaccine
The HPV vaccine is recommended for children aged 12 to 13 years old and people at higher risk from HPV.
Most people who are eligible for the HPV vaccine can have it.
You only cannot have the vaccine if you've had a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to a previous dose of the vaccine, or an ingredient in the vaccine.
There's no evidence the vaccine is harmful if you're pregnant, but sometimes you may be advised to wait until you're no longer pregnant before having the vaccine.
You can have the HPV vaccine while breastfeeding.
Source: NHS
