[Correspondence] Diet, atherosclerosis, and helmintic infection in Tsimane

In The Lancet, Hillard Kaplan and colleagues (March 17, p 1730)1 noted that more than two-thirds of Tsimane adults suffer from intestinal helminths. Despite such a high inflammatory burden, the authors found a very low prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis, as measured by coronary artery calcium. Preclinical and clinical studies show that inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and reductions in inflammatory processes could result in cardiovascular benefits. Furthermore, autoimmune diseases are associated with an increased cardiovascular risk and a worse outcome following cardiovascular events.
Source: LANCET - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research