Mar 25, 2025 11:06 PM
(This post was last modified: Mar 25, 2025 11:07 PM by C C.)
Growing body of evidence links HPV with heart disease
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1077980
INTRO: In addition to causing several types of cancer, human papillomavirus (HPV) appears to bring a significantly increased risk of heart disease and coronary artery disease, according to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (ACC.25).
Evidence that HPV is linked with heart disease has begun to emerge only recently. This new study is the first to assess the association by pooling data from several global studies, totaling nearly 250,000 patients. Its findings bolster the evidence that a significant relationship exists and warrants further attention from researchers, clinicians and patients.
“Our study shows that clearly there is an association of some kind between HPV and cardiovascular disease,” said Stephen Akinfenwa, MD, 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 hypothesized to be related to chronic inflammation. We would ultimately like to see if reducing HPV via vaccination could reduce cardiovascular risk.”
HPV is a common viral infection spread by intimate contact. It can cause genital warts and cancers of the genitals, anus and throat. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all children and teens receive the HPV vaccine to prevent cancers associated with the infection; however, many U.S. adults have not been vaccinated because they were past the recommended age to receive the vaccine when it became available in 2006.
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. Most were retrospective and longitudinal cohort studies; three were from the United States, two were from South Korea, one was from Brazil and one was from Australia... (MORE - details, no ads)
New evidence links microplastics with chronic disease
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1077972
INTRO: Tiny fragments of plastic have become ubiquitous in our environment and our bodies. Higher exposure to these microplastics, which can be inadvertently consumed or inhaled, is associated with a heightened prevalence of chronic noncommunicable diseases, according to new research being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (ACC.25).
Researchers said the new findings add to a small but growing body of evidence that microplastic pollution represents an emerging health threat. In terms of its relationship with stroke risk, for example, microplastics concentration was comparable to factors such as minority race and lack of health insurance, according to the results.
“This study provides initial evidence that microplastics exposure has an impact on cardiovascular health, especially chronic, noncommunicable conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke,” said Sai Rahul Ponnana, MA, a research data scientist at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Ohio and the study’s lead author. “When we included 154 different socioeconomic and environmental features in our analysis, we didn’t expect microplastics to rank in the top 10 for predicting chronic noncommunicable disease prevalence.”
Microplastics—defined as fragments of plastic between 1 nanometer and 5 millimeters across—are released as larger pieces of plastic break down. They come from many different sources, such as food and beverage packaging, consumer products and building materials. People can be exposed to microplastics in the water they drink, the food they eat and the air they breathe.
The study examines associations between the concentration of microplastics in bodies of water and the prevalence of various health conditions in communities along the East, West and Gulf Coasts, as well as some lakeshores, in the United States between 2015-2019. While inland areas also contain microplastics pollution, researchers focused on lakes and coastlines because microplastics concentrations are better documented in these areas. They used a dataset covering 555 census tracts from the National Centers for Environmental Information that classified microplastics concentration in seafloor sediments as low (zero to 200 particles per square meter) to very high (over 40,000 particles per square meter).
The researchers assessed rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and cancer in the same census tracts in 2019 using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... (MORE - details, no ads)
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1077980
INTRO: In addition to causing several types of cancer, human papillomavirus (HPV) appears to bring a significantly increased risk of heart disease and coronary artery disease, according to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (ACC.25).
Evidence that HPV is linked with heart disease has begun to emerge only recently. This new study is the first to assess the association by pooling data from several global studies, totaling nearly 250,000 patients. Its findings bolster the evidence that a significant relationship exists and warrants further attention from researchers, clinicians and patients.
“Our study shows that clearly there is an association of some kind between HPV and cardiovascular disease,” said Stephen Akinfenwa, MD, 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 hypothesized to be related to chronic inflammation. We would ultimately like to see if reducing HPV via vaccination could reduce cardiovascular risk.”
HPV is a common viral infection spread by intimate contact. It can cause genital warts and cancers of the genitals, anus and throat. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all children and teens receive the HPV vaccine to prevent cancers associated with the infection; however, many U.S. adults have not been vaccinated because they were past the recommended age to receive the vaccine when it became available in 2006.
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. Most were retrospective and longitudinal cohort studies; three were from the United States, two were from South Korea, one was from Brazil and one was from Australia... (MORE - details, no ads)
New evidence links microplastics with chronic disease
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1077972
INTRO: Tiny fragments of plastic have become ubiquitous in our environment and our bodies. Higher exposure to these microplastics, which can be inadvertently consumed or inhaled, is associated with a heightened prevalence of chronic noncommunicable diseases, according to new research being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (ACC.25).
Researchers said the new findings add to a small but growing body of evidence that microplastic pollution represents an emerging health threat. In terms of its relationship with stroke risk, for example, microplastics concentration was comparable to factors such as minority race and lack of health insurance, according to the results.
“This study provides initial evidence that microplastics exposure has an impact on cardiovascular health, especially chronic, noncommunicable conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke,” said Sai Rahul Ponnana, MA, a research data scientist at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Ohio and the study’s lead author. “When we included 154 different socioeconomic and environmental features in our analysis, we didn’t expect microplastics to rank in the top 10 for predicting chronic noncommunicable disease prevalence.”
Microplastics—defined as fragments of plastic between 1 nanometer and 5 millimeters across—are released as larger pieces of plastic break down. They come from many different sources, such as food and beverage packaging, consumer products and building materials. People can be exposed to microplastics in the water they drink, the food they eat and the air they breathe.
The study examines associations between the concentration of microplastics in bodies of water and the prevalence of various health conditions in communities along the East, West and Gulf Coasts, as well as some lakeshores, in the United States between 2015-2019. While inland areas also contain microplastics pollution, researchers focused on lakes and coastlines because microplastics concentrations are better documented in these areas. They used a dataset covering 555 census tracts from the National Centers for Environmental Information that classified microplastics concentration in seafloor sediments as low (zero to 200 particles per square meter) to very high (over 40,000 particles per square meter).
The researchers assessed rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and cancer in the same census tracts in 2019 using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... (MORE - details, no ads)