The Association Between Chlamydia pneumoniae Infection and Ischemic Stroke

Background: Chlamydia pneumoniae has been linked with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases; however, data on stroke and cerebrovascular accidents are sparse. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the association between C. pneumoniae infection and ischemic stroke. Patients and Methods: In a case-control study, ۱۴۱ patients, admitted with ischemic stroke, were compared with gender and age-matched control subjects (n = ۱۴۱). Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit, the presence of C. pneumoniae IgG and IgA in the patients’ sera was determined. The data were analyzed by SPSS software (version ۱۵) and were compared between the two groups using T-test and chi square test. Results: The mean ages of the case and control groups were ۶۸.۹۷ ± ۱۲.۲۹ and ۶۶.۹۵ ± ۶.۶۸ years old, respectively. The difference between these two groups was not statistically significant (P = ۰.۱۰۲). The seroprevalence of C. pneumoniae-specific IgG were ۷۸.۷% in the patients with stroke and ۵۲.۵% in the control group. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P = ۰.۰۰۰۱). The seroprevalence of C. pneumoniae-specific IgA were ۴۱.۱% in the stroke and ۱۵.۶% in the control group. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P = ۰.۰۰۰۱). Conclusions: The results supported the hypothesis that serological evidence of C. pneumoniae infection may be associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke and cerebrovascular accident.