PLOS Medicine · 1 September 2026 · From issue 30
Human papillomavirus infection and risk of cardiovascular disease: A population-based matched cohort study with sibling analysis
Women with a common sexually transmitted virus had slightly higher heart disease risk than uninfected women.
Yunyang Deng, Mark Clements et al.
A study of nearly 500,000 women found a small link between a common sexually transmitted virus infection and heart disease risk. Women with this infection had a slightly higher chance of developing heart disease and dying from it, especially in the first year after infection. The link held up even when comparing infected women to their own sisters, which helps rule out family genes as the full explanation. Still, the extra risk was small, about half an extra heart disease case per 1,000 women each year.
The adjusted increase in heart disease risk for women with the infection compared to matched uninfected women.
Observational study of Swedish women, cannot prove the virus causes heart disease.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 2 September 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (PLOS Medicine). Read the source
This screen checks process signals. It does not tell you the findings are true.