title: Abdominal obesity and other risk factors largely explain the high CRP in indigenous Australians relative to the general population, but not gender differences: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies reported high C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in Indigenous Australians, which may contribute to their high risk of cardiovascular disease. We compared CRP levels in Indigenous Australians and the general population, accounting for obesity and other risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study of CRP and risk factors (weight, height, waist and hip circumferences, blood pressure, lipids, blood glucose, and smoking status) in population-based samples from the Diabetes and Related conditions in Urban Indigenous people in the Darwin region (DRUID) study, and the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study (AusDiab) follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CRP concentrations were higher in women than men and in DRUID than AusDiab. After multivariate adjustment, including waist circumference, the odds of high CRP (>3.0 mg/L) in DRUID relative to AusDiab were no longer statistically significant, but elevated CRP was still more likely in women than men. After adjusting for BMI (instead of waist circumference) the odds for elevated CRP in DRUID participants were still higher relative to AusDiab participants among women, but not men. Lower HDL cholesterol, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and higher diastolic blood pressure were associated with having a high CRP in both men and women, while current smoking was associated with high CRP in men but not women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High concentrations of CRP in Indigenous participants were largely explained by other risk factors, in particular abdominal obesity. Irrespective of its independence as a risk factor, or its aetiological association with coronary heart disease (CHD), the high CRP levels in urban Indigenous women are likely to reflect increased vascular and metabolic risk. The significance of elevated CRP in Indigenous Australians should be investigated in future longitudinal studies.
authors.affiliation: University of Melbourne, Department of Medicine, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. hodgea@unimelb.edu.au
authors.forename: Allison M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hodge
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maple-Brown
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boyle
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dunbar
authors.forename: Tarun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Weeramanthri
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: Kerin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: O'Dea
mesh_terms: D050153:Abdominal Fat; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein