Prior infection with cytomegalovirus is not a major risk factor for angiographically demonstrated coronary artery atherosclerosis

To determine if cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is a risk factor for primary coronary artery disease (CAD), the association between CMV infection and CAD (>50% blockage in any coronary artery) was investigated in nearly 900 successive nontransplant patients undergoing coronary angiography. By use of logistic regression, older age (P <,001), white race (P <.001), gender (P <,001), hypercholesterolemia (P =,04), and other established cardiovascular risk factors (P =.003) were identified as significantly associated with CAD, but CMV seropositivity (P =.462), the level of Ige antibodies to CMV whole cell antigen (P =.98), or the levels of IgG antibodies to CMV glycoprotein B (P =.67) were not, These data suggest that CMV infection is not a major risk factor for the development of primary CAD in adults.