Infant Infections May Increase the Risk of Heart Disease Later in Life

upstart writes:

A possible relationship between infant infections and the risk of cardiovascular disease has been discovered:

Bacteria and viruses cause the majority of infections in newborn babies. Newborns can acquire an infection before, during, and after birth. Soon after birth, babies' immune systems begin to mature, quickly decreasing the number of infections a child gets. Still, the brief period of vulnerability to infections could have serious consequences for the future health of the child.

[...] "We found the risk of adult-onset cardiovascular disease could be accruing from early life," he said. We know babies are prone to infections. This causes inflammation, a key cardiometabolic risk factor, but the relationship between infection, inflammation, and metabolic profiles in early childhood had remained underexplored until this study."

[...] The research found high rates of infant infections by 12 months of age were associated with elevated inflammation markers and changes to metabolic profiles, which influence how the body processes fats, proteins, and sugars.

[...] Professor Burgner said the research offered opportunities for early prevention measures such as identifying the types of infection and the children at highest risk, and how these risks might be offset by simple interventions.

"Targeted action could include promoting breastfeeding, ensuring timely vaccinations, and supporting families so that they can keep children at home if they are unwell with an infection," he said.

Journal Reference:
Toby Mansell, Richard Saffery, Satvika Burugupalli, et al. Early life infection and proinflammatory, atherogenic metabolomic and lipidomic profiles in infancy: a population-based cohort study [open], eLife, 2022. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.75170

Original Submission

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