M. Margaglione et al., FIBRINOGEN PLASMA-LEVELS IN AN APPARENTLY HEALTHY GENERAL-POPULATION - RELATION TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND GENETIC-DETERMINANTS, Thrombosis and haemostasis, 80(5), 1998, pp. 805-810
Elevated fibrinogen levels are an independent risk factor for cardiova
scular ischemic disease. We investigated the relationship between card
iovascular ischemic risk factors, the fibrinogen BP-chain G/A(-455) po
lymorphism and plasma fibrinogen levels in 989 apparently healthy subj
ects. Fibrinogen values were higher in subjects with C reactive protei
n (C-RP) >0.33 mg/dl, BMI >23.9 kg/m(2), total cholesterol >4.84 mmol/
l, triglycerides > 1.02 mmol/l, PAI-I antigen > 12.2 ng/ml, carriers o
f the A allele, first-degree relative history of coronary artery disea
se, or consuming >10 cigarettes per day (p<0.01). Men and ethanol drin
kers showed lower plasma fibrinogen levels (p < 0.01). The multivariat
e analysis confirmed the independent effect of C-RP, age, BMI, total c
holesterol, gender, PAI-1, -455 G/A polymorphism (p < 0.05). BMI, tota
l cholesterol, PAI-I, alcohol and smoking habit raised with the increa
se of age and differed between sexes. The A(-455) allele increasing ef
fect was significant in women, especially in subjects aged <30 years,
and in men aged <43 years. These results indicate that environmental f
actors contributed to a larger extent to fibrinogen variability, where
as the A(-455) allele was associated with a steeper increase in younge
r age quartiles.