title: Elevated C-reactive protein: a common marker for atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk and subclinical stages of pulmonary dysfunction and osteopenia in a healthy population.
abstract: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, osteopenia, and pulmonary dysfunction are the serious health problems, and several experimental studies have suggested that inflammation has a role in them. The present study was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of the plasma CRP is as a common marker for detecting these diseases in the general population in their subclinical stages. In a cross-sectional study, we measured the pulse wave velocity (PWV), quantitative osteo-sono-assessment index (OSI), pulmonary functions, and the plasma level of C-reactive protein (CRP) in 7283 consecutive healthy subjects (age 50+/-11 years). The PWV was higher and the OSI and pulmonary function parameters were below normal in subjects with an elevated CRP level (> or =0.2 mg/dl) than in subjects with a CRP level within the normal range. We divided the subjects into quartiles for each of these parameters and found that the first quartiles represented patients with subclinical states of the aforementioned abnormal conditions. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the odds ratios of an elevated CRP level were individually significant in subjects with an elevated CRP level for each abnormality in women and for abnormal PWV and pulmonary dysfunction in men. In conclusion, in addition to being a marker of elevated atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk, elevated plasma CRP seems to be a marker of the early stages of osteopenia and pulmonary dysfunction in healthy subjects.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan. tomiyama@tokyo-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tomiyama
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Okazaki
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koji
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Usui
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Saburou
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yamashina
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001851:Bone Diseases, Metabolic / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D011674:Pulse; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein