CINCINNATI — A common herpesvirus infection, cytomegalovirus can have a wide range of symptoms, from no symptoms to fever and fatigue to severe symptoms involving the eyes, brain or other internal organs. It is spread through sexual and nonsexual contact with body secretions.
A recent study published in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease pointed out that cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an understudied chronic infection, which usually is contracted early in life. Researchers from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and the Cincinnati VAMC added that the infection can cause chronic immune system alterations which might contribute to airflow limitations in a cohort of veterans with a high prevalence of smoking.1
The researchers focused on 172 veterans at-risk for and with airflow limitation with available CMV serology to elucidate he relationship between CMV infection and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-related outcomes.
Information on the participants, all smokers with or at risk for the development of COPD, was obtained by chart abstraction at enrollment. In addition, researchers performed CMV affinity (ever-exposure) and avidity testing (length of exposure) on plasma samples collected at enrollment. In the 84 veterans found to have airflow limitation, the authors determined relationships between CMV serostatus and reported exacerbations of COPD over two years prior to enrollment.
“Positive CMV serostatus was independently associated with a 136% higher odds of airflow limitation (95% confidence interval 1.11-5.06, P=0.03) at enrollment,” researchers reported. “Neither CMV affinity nor avidity was associated with COPD exacerbations in the two years prior to enrollment.”
The study concluded that CMV serostatus is independently associated with airflow limitation in a cohort of veterans who smoke. Researchers called for more research into the timing of infection and alterations in cellular immunity caused by chronic CMV infection and smoking-related airways disease-related outcomes.
- Burkes R, Osterburg A, Hwalek T, Lach L, Panos RJ, Borchers MT. Cytomegalovirus Seropositivity is Associated with Airflow Limitation in a Cohort of Veterans with a High Prevalence of Smoking. Chronic Obstr Pulm Dis. 2021 Oct 28;8(4):441-449. doi: 10.15326/jcopdf.2021.0221. PMID: 34329551.