Heart failure associated with imported malaria: a nationwide Danish cohort study

Abstract

Aims Despite adequate treatment, recent studies have hypothesized that malaria may affect long-term cardiovascular function. We aimed to investigate the long-term risk of cardiovascular events and death in individuals with a history of imported malaria in Denmark. Methods Using nationwide Danish registries, we followed individuals with a history of malaria for the risk of incident heart failure (HF), myocardial infarction (MI), cardiovascular death and all-cause death (1 January 1994 to 1 January 2017). The population was age-and sex-matched with individuals without a history of malaria from the Danish population (ratio 1:9). We excluded patients with known HF and ischaemic heart disease at inclusion. Results We identified 3912 cases with a history of malaria (mean age 33 ± 17 years, 57% male, 41% Plasmodium falciparum infections). The median follow-up was 9.8 years (interquartile range 3.9-16.4 years). Event rates per 1000 person-years for individuals with a history vs.

Temporal trends in the burden of non-communicable diseases in countries with the highest malaria burden, 1990–2019: Evaluating the double burden of non-communicable and communicable diseases in epidemiological transition

“…Prior studies have indicated that some types of NCDs may be associated with malaria and malaria severity [16][17][18]. A Danish study found that malaria may be associated with cardiac complications, and people with malaria history may carry out a long-term risk of cardiovascular conditions and deaths [21]. Two recent studies also have suggested that long-term malaria exposure is linked to cardiovascular events, especially hypertension [17,34] Moreover, Kalra et al suggested that malaria has been more common in diabetes mellitus [19].…”

“…In several studies from Africa, malaria has been documented to be more common in people with diabetes [19]. In addition, few experimental studies have also shown that malaria may affect blood pressure and induce hypertension, which contributes to heart failure [20,21]. However, there are few studies on the trends in the burden of NCDs in countries with the highest malaria burden from the perspective of epidemiological transition.…”

Mechanism of Immune Evasion in Mosquito-Borne Diseases

“…This is thought to occur through the chronic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction that can result from repeated or chronic malaria infections [ 120 , 121 ]. Brainin et al conducted a cohort study in Denmark and found that individuals with Plasmodium infections had an increased risk of heart attack [ 122 ]. Cardiovascular complications in malaria are mainly attributed to the altered cytoadhesive properties of P. falciparum -infected erythrocytes.…”

First severe malaria in pregnancy followed in Philippine real-world setting: proof-of-concept of probabilistic record linkage between disease surveillance and hospital administrative data

“…Although these hospitals are not easily accessible to high-risk groups in communities endemic to malaria, it is crucial to have accurate and comprehensive data on malaria patients and their subsequent hospital medical information to optimize patient care in terms of a life-course approach, and to monitor the impact of program interventions on vulnerable populations. Nevertheless, most of the RWD studies reported are focused on imported malaria in European countries [15][16][17]. Furthermore, only a few observational cohort studies regarding MDP patients have been reported using patient clinical data [18,19].…”