T. cruzi-seropositivity associated with higher incidence of cardiomyopathy: Study
According to a study published in the Circulation, T. cruzi-seropositivity is associated with a higher incidence of cardiomyopathy.
There are few contemporary cohorts of Trypanosoma cruzi-seropositive individuals, and the basic clinical epidemiology of Chagas disease is poorly understood. A team of researchers conducted a study to report the incidence of cardiomyopathy and death associated with T. cruzi seropositivity.
Participants were selected in blood banks at 2 Brazilian centres. Cases were defined as T. cruzi-seropositive blood donors. T. cruzi-seronegative controls were matched for age, sex, and period of donation. Patients with established Chagas cardiomyopathy were recruited from a tertiary outpatient service. Participants underwent a medical examination, blood collection, electrocardiogram, and echocardiogram at enrollment (2008 to 2010) and at follow-up (2018 to 2019). The primary outcomes were all-cause mortality and development of cardiomyopathy, defined as the presence of a left ventricular ejection fraction <50% and/or QRS complex duration ≥ 120 ms. To handle a loss to follow-up, a sensitivity analysis was performed using inverse probability weights for selection.
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