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The association of body mass index, waist and hip circumference, and waist–hip ratio with Chlamydia pneumoniae IgG antibodies and high-sensitive C-reactive protein at 31 years of age in Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966

International Journal of Obesity volume 35, pages 1470–1478 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background:

Viruses and bacteria like Chlamydia pneumoniae and Helicobacter pylori have been suggested to have a role in pathogenesis of overweight and obesity.

Objective:

We studied whether C. pneumoniae-specific IgG antibodies are associated with elevated body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumference, and/or waist–hip ratio (WHR), and whether the risk is more pronounced in the simultaneous presence of an ongoing inflammation as measured by elevated high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels.

Subjects and methods:

Our study population was derived from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966), a general population sample of 12 058 live-born children. This cross-sectional study consisted of 5044 persons at 31 years of age. Serum C. pneumoniae IgG titers were measured by microimmunofluorescence test, and hsCRP levels by immunoenzymometric assay.

Results:

C. pneumoniae IgG positivity (titer ⩾32), both alone and jointly with elevated hsCRP (⩾1.64 mg l−1, an upper quartile), was found to significantly associate with elevated BMI in the whole study population and with elevated hip and waist circumference in women, yet no association with WHR was seen. The analyses were adjusted for sex (when appropriate), smoking, socioeconomic position, glucose, insulin, high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterols, triglycerides, leukocytes and pulse pressure.

Conclusion:

These findings suggest that especially in women, persistent C. pneumoniae infection may be associated with overweight/obesity, independently of more traditional risk factors.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Academy of Finland (Microbes and Man, MicMan project, Salve consortium No 129418), the Biocenter Oulu (Molecular Determinants of the Metabolic Syndrome, MetSyn consortium), the Sigrid Juselius Foundation, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    T Lajunen & K-H Herzig

  2. Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    T Lajunen, M Savolainen, K-H Herzig & M-R Järvelin

  3. Department of Children, Young People and Families, National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Oulu, Finland

    T Lajunen, A Bloigu, M Paldanius, A Pouta & M Leinonen

  4. Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, University Hospital of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    M Paldanius

  5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    A Pouta & A-L Hartikainen

  6. Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Oulu, Finland

    J Laitinen

  7. Department of Clinical Chemistry, University Hospital of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    A Ruokonen

  8. Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    M Savolainen

  9. Department of Psychiatry, Kuopio University Hospital and University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland

    K-H Herzig

  10. Department of Medical microbiology, Institute of Diagnostics, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    P Saikku

  11. Department of Public Health Science and General Practice, Institute of Health Sciences, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    M-R Järvelin

  12. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public health, Imperial College London, London, UK

    M-R Järvelin

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Correspondence to T Lajunen.

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Lajunen, T., Bloigu, A., Paldanius, M. et al. The association of body mass index, waist and hip circumference, and waist–hip ratio with Chlamydia pneumoniae IgG antibodies and high-sensitive C-reactive protein at 31 years of age in Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966. Int J Obes 35, 1470–1478 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2011.21

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