Survey of C-reactive protein and cardiovascular risk factors in apparentlyhealthy men

Several prospective studies have demonstrated a direct association between C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and the risks of developing cardiovascular disease. Few studies, however, have explored the interrelations between CRP levels and of her risk factors for cardiovascular disease. We evaluated th e relation of CRP with several cardiovascular risk factors in a cross-secti onal survey of 1,172 apparently healthy men. There were significant positiv e associations between CRP levels and age, number of cigarettes smoked per day, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total choleste rol, triglycerides, lipoprotein(a), apolipoprotein B, tissue-type plasminog en activator antigen, D-dimers, total homocysteine, and fibrinogen tail p v alues <0.05). Significant inverse associations were observed for exercise f requency, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and apolipoprotein A-I and A-II (all p values <0.02), In multivariate analysis, age, smoking status, a nd serum levels of tissue-type plasminogen activator antigen, fibrinogen, l ipoprotein(a), and total homocysteine were independent correlates of CRP le vels. Finally, in an analysis controlled either for all the independent cor relates or for several usual risk factors, we observed progressive increase s in levels of CRP with increasing prevalence of risk factors (p for trend <0.001 for independent correlates and <0.01 for usual risk factors). In con clusion, in a large cohort of apparently healthy men, CRP levels were assoc iated with several cardiovascular risk factors. These data are compatible w ith the hypothesis that CRP levels may be a marker for preclinical cardiova scular disease. (C) 1999 by Excerpta Medico, Inc.