Does high-sensitivity C-reactive protein or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol show a stronger relationship with the cardio-ankle vascular index in healthy community dwellers?: the KOBE study.
OBJECTIVE
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) identifies individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) without an increased level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The present study was performed to compare hs-CRP and LDL-C in association with the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) in Japanese community dwellers considered to be at low risk for atherosclerosis from their level of traditional CVD risk factors.


METHODS
A community-based study involving 386 healthy Japanese (261 men and 125 women) without a history of CVD and medications for hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia was performed. Multiple adjustments were performed with linear regression models to estimate the association between CAVI and hs-CRP or LDL-C levels. The participants were divided into four groups on the basis of whether they were above or below the median hs-CRP and LDL-C values, and CAVI was compared among the four groups by analysis of covariance after adjusting for confounders.


RESULTS
In multiple linear regression models, hs-CRP showed a significant positive association with CAVI; however, no clear association was observed between CAVI and LDL-C. These results were similar in the analyses among the participants with LDL-C <140 mg/dL or hs-CRP <1.0 mg/L. CAVI was higher in the groups with high hs-CRP than in those with low hs-CRP, irrespective of LDL-C; however, CAVI was highest in the group with high LDL-C and high hs-CRP.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study suggests that hs-CRP could be a better risk factor assessor for atherosclerosis than LDL-C in individuals considered to be at low risk for atherosclerosis assessed by their traditional CVD risk factors.
Department of Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo, Japan. ahigashi@hyo-med.ac.jp
Aya
A
Higashiyama
Ichiro
I
Wakabayashi
Yoshimi
Y
Kubota
Yoshiko
Y
Adachi
Akiko
A
Hayashibe
Kunihiro
K
Nishimura
Daisuke
D
Sugiyama
Aya
A
Kadota
Hironori
H
Imano
Naomi
N
Miyamatsu
Yoshihiro
Y
Miyamoto
Tomonori
T
Okamura
D000368:Aged; D000842:Ankle; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D002319:Cardiovascular System; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values
D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D002097:C-Reactive Protein