Population differences in associations between C-reactive protein concentration and adiposity: comparison of young adults in the Philippines and the United States.
BACKGROUND
Inflammation may be an important mediator of the association between nutrition and cardiovascular diseases, but most studies have been conducted in Western populations with high rates of overweight and obesity and low levels of infectious disease.


OBJECTIVE
This study sought to investigate the predictors of C-reactive protein (CRP) in young adults living in the Philippines and to examine patterns of association with adiposity compared with young adults in the United States.


METHODS
Maximum likelihood logistic regression models were used to predict elevated high-sensitivity CRP (>3 mg/L) in relation to anthropometric measures of adiposity, symptoms of infectious disease, and proxy measures of pathogen exposure in men and women from the Philippines (n = 1648; age: 20-22 y). Comparative data were drawn from a nationally representative sample in the United States (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; n = 616; age: 19-24 y).


RESULTS
Median concentrations of CRP were substantially lower in the Philippines (0.2 mg/L) than in the United States (0.9 mg/L), and the likelihood of elevated CRP was lower in the Philippines than in the United States at the same level of waist circumference or skinfold thickness. In the Philippines, infectious symptoms and pathogen exposure predicted elevated CRP, independent of adiposity.


CONCLUSIONS
Adiposity and infectious exposures are associated with elevated CRP in the Philippines; other populations undergoing comparable lifestyle and dietary changes associated with increasing rates of overweight and obesity are likely experiencing similar double burdens of inflammatory stimuli. Low concentrations of CRP in this Philippine sample raise the question of whether CRP cutoffs based on European or European-American reference populations are appropriate for predicting disease risk in populations undergoing the nutrition transition.
McDade
Thomas W
TW
Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. t-mcdade@northwestern.edu
Rutherford
Julienne N
JN
Adair
Linda
L
Kuzawa
Christopher
C
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D050154:Adiposity / Q000502:physiology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000097:blood; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood*; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D010679:Philippines; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein