title: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein is quite low in Japanese men at high coronary risk.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although numerous studies have demonstrated a positive association of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) with the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD), little information exists regarding this issue in Japanese.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The association between CRP and the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) was investigated in 2,523 middle-aged Japanese men without a medical history of CHD. CRP was significantly associated with this score obtained from all FRS factors. After dividing subjects into 4 categories of relative risk estimate for CHD, the geometric mean of CRP (mg/L) increased gradually with the CHD risk (below average: 0.39 [95% confidence interval, 0.37-0.41], average: 0.58 [0.50-0.67], moderately above average: 0.70 [0.57-0.86], high: 0.79 [0.58-1.09], trend p<0.001). However, it should be noted that the mean CRP concentration of the high-risk group was only 0.79 mg/L and a greater proportion (63.8%) of the high-risk subjects was in the low-risk range of CRP (<1 mg/L).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Circulating CRP well reflect the estimated CHD risk, indicating that CRP may be useful for coronary risk stratification in Japanese also. However, the details of the CRP level in Japanese must be investigated further by prospective studies to determine the Japanese-specific cutoff points for CHD risk evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsusumai, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Kunihiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yatsuya
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tamakoshi
authors.forename: Pei Ou
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Rei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.forename: Hirotsugu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mitsuhashi
authors.forename: Yo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hotta
authors.forename: Takahisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Toyoaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murohara
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Toyoshima
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein