Advertisement
ADVANCED SEARCH

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Résumé Submit a response View responses Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lamontagne, F. Articles by Pilon, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lamontagne, F., MD MSc Articles by Pilon, D., MD MSc Related Collections Other cardiovascular medicine Other respiratory medicine Related Articles

Pneumococcal vaccination and risk of myocardial infarction

From the Department of Medicine (Lamontagne, Garant, Carvalho, Lanthier, Pilon), Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Que.; and the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Lamontagne, Smieja), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.

Correspondence to: Dr. Danielle Pilon, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue N, Sherbrooke QC J1H 5N4; fax 819 820-6406; Danielle.Pilon{at}USherbrooke.ca

Background: Based on promising results from laboratory studies, we hypothesized that pneumococcal vaccination would protect patients from myocardial infarction.

Methods: We conducted a hospital-based case–control study that included patients considered to be at risk of myocardial infarction. We used health databases to obtain hospital diagnoses and vaccination status. We compared patients who had been admitted for treatment of myocardial infarction with patients admitted to a surgical department in the same hospital for a reason other than myocardial infarction between 1997 and 2003.

Results: We found a total of 43 209 patients who were at risk; of these, we matched 999 cases and 3996 controls according to age, sex and year of hospital admission. Cases were less likely than controls to have been vaccinated (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.40–0.70). This putative protective role of the vaccine was not observed for patients who had received the vaccine up to 1 year before myocardial infarction (adjusted OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.54–1.33). In contrast, if vaccination had occurred 2 years or more before the hospital admission, the association was stronger (adjusted OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.20–0.46).

Interpretation: Pneumococcal vaccination was associated with a decrease of more than 50% in the rate myocardial infarction 2 years after exposure. If confirmed, this association should generate interest in exploring the putative mechanisms and may offer another reason to promote pneumococcal vaccination.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. M. Skowronski MD MHS, N. Z. Janjua MD DrPH, T. S. Hottes MSc, D. M. Patrick MD MHSc, and G. De Serres MD PhD Pneumococcal vaccination and myocardial infarction Can. Med. Assoc. J., February 3, 2009; 180(3): 319 - 319. [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Lamontagne MD MSc and M. Smieja MD PhD Pneumococcal vaccination and myocardial infarction Can. Med. Assoc. J., February 3, 2009; 180(3): 320 - 320. [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. M. Rosa MD PhD, A. P.S. Osorio, and L. Scopel Pneumococcal vaccination and myocardial infarction Can. Med. Assoc. J., February 3, 2009; 180(3): 319 - 320. [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Madjid MD Acute infections, vaccination and prevention of cardiovascular disease Can. Med. Assoc. J., October 7, 2008; 179(8): 749 - 750. [Full Text] [PDF]

eLetters:

HOME	CURRENT ISSUE	PAST ISSUES	COLLECTIONS	HELP	SEARCH
Copyright 1995-2008, Canadian Medical Association. All rights reserved. ISSN 1488-2329 (e) 0820-3946 (p) All editorial matter in CMAJ represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Canadian Medical Association.