title: C-reactive protein levels and prevalence of chronic infections in subjects with hypoalphalipoproteinemia.
abstract: Low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) show a consistent relationship with the development of atherosclerosis. The underlying mechanisms are not well understood, but recent studies in subjects with primary hypoalphalipoproteinemia suggest that this could represent a proinflammatory condition. To better assess the link between HDL-C levels and C-reactive protein levels and the possible role of chronic infections as putative mediators of this relationship, we studied a population sample with nonselected causes of hypoalphalipoproteinemia. Eighty-six consecutive patients with HDL-C levels below 40 mg/dL who attend our lipid clinic and 86 control subjects with normal concentrations matched for gender, age, smoking habit, and weight were included in the study. Mean HDL-C levels were 34 +/- 3.9 and 55.4 +/- 8.8 mg/dL for subjects with hypoalphalipoproteinemia and control subjects, respectively. C-reactive protein concentrations were increased in case patients as compared with control subjects (2.13 +/- 2.0 vs 1.52 +/- 1.8 mg/L; P = .025). The prevalence of herpes simplex virus type 1, cytomegalovirus, Chlamydia pneumoniae , and Helicobacter pylori infections did not differ between the 2 groups. Although a possible confounding variable could be a degree of insulin resistance within the group of patients with low HDL-C levels, our results indicate that C-reactive protein levels are increased in subjects with nonselected hypoalphalipoproteinemia and that chronic infections do not appear to mediate this relationship.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Clinicas, Unidad de Arteriosclerosis, Hospital Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain. jmostaza.hciii@salud.madrid.org
authors.forename: Jose M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mostaza
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Camino
authors.forename: Juan Gómez
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Gerique
authors.forename: Rocío
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Peña
authors.forename: Margarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baquero
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lahoz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007009:Hypolipoproteinemias / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D007239:Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D002097:C-Reactive Protein