WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT — Influenza is a significant contributor to coronary and cerebrovascular events in U.S. veterans and exacerbates underlying conditions, according to a new study.
Researchers from the White River Junction, VT, VAMC and the VA’s Center for Medication Safety in Hines, IL, and colleagues used self-controlled case series (SCCS) design to analyze data from veterans with coronary/cerebrovascular or exacerbation event +/-1 year of laboratory-confirmed influenza (LCI) during 2010-2018.
The study team identified 3,439 episodes with coronary/cerebrovascular-related hospitalizations. IRs (95% CI) for LCI risk versus control interval were:
- STEMI 0.6 (0.1, 4.4),
- NSTEMI 7.3 (5.8, 9.2),
- ischemic stroke 4.0 (3.0, 5.4),
- hemorrhagic stroke 6.2 (3.4, 11.5), and
- coronary spasm 1.3 (0.5, 3.0).
“[Incident rates (IR)] significantly increased for NSTEMI and ischemic stroke among those ≥ 65 years,” according to the report. “IR for NSTEMI and ischemic stroke dropped 26% and 10%, respectively, when white blood cell (WBC) and platelet count were considered. LCI was significantly associated with exacerbation of preexisting asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and congestive heart failure.” Results were published in the journal Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses.1
The researchers said their study found a “significant association between LCI and hospitalization for NSTEMI, ischemic stroke, and hemorrhagic stroke” with some limitations.
According to previous reports, veterans with VHA coverage have a higher unadjusted vaccination rate (63.0%) than veterans without VA coverage (59.1%) and nonveterans (46.5%).
- Korves C, Neupane N, Smith J, Young-Xu Y, van Aalst R, Mahmud SM, Loiacono MM. Coronary and Cerebrovascular Events and Exacerbation of Existing Conditions After Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza Infection Among US Veterans: A Self-Controlled Case Series Study. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2024 Jun;18(6):e13304. doi: 10.1111/irv.13304. PMID: 38845386; PMCID: PMC11157146.