title: Poor self-rated health is significantly associated with elevated C-reactive protein levels in women, but not in men, in the Japanese general population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Self-rated health (SRH) is associated with risk for mortality, but its biological basis is poorly understood. We examined the association between SRH and low-grade inflammation in a Japanese general population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 5142 men and 11,114 women aged 40 to 69years were enrolled. SRH was assessed by a single question and classified into four categories: good, rather good, neither good nor poor, and poor. Serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels were measured by the latex-enhanced immunonephelometric method. Elevated CRP was defined as hsCRP level of 1.0mg/L or higher. The association between SRH and elevated CRP was evaluated by using logistic regression with adjustment for age, socioeconomic status (job status, education and marital status), health-related behaviors (smoking status, drinking status, exercise habits and sleep duration), and cardiovascular risk factors (body mass index, systolic blood pressure, total- and HDL-cholesterol, HbA1c and prevalent stroke and/or myocardial infarction).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to persons with good SRH, persons with poor SRH had significantly higher risk for elevated CRP: age-adjusted ORs (95% CIs) were 1.33 (1.01-1.76) in men and 1.66 (1.36-2.02) in women. The significant association remained even after adjustment for socioeconomic status, health-related behaviors and cardiovascular risk factors in women, whereas the significance disappeared in men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Poor SRH is associated with low-grade inflammation in both sexes. In women, but not in men, the association is independent of potential confounders. These findings provide an insight into the biological background of SRH in a general population.
authors: Department of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Yahaba, Japan. ktanno@iwate-med.ac.jp
authors: Kozo
authors: K
authors: Tanno
authors: Masaki
authors: M
authors: Ohsawa
authors: Toshiyuki
authors: T
authors: Onoda
authors: Kazuyoshi
authors: K
authors: Itai
authors: Kiyomi
authors: K
authors: Sakata
authors: Fumitaka
authors: F
authors: Tanaka
authors: Shinji
authors: S
authors: Makita
authors: Motoyuki
authors: M
authors: Nakamura
authors: Shinichi
authors: S
authors: Omama
authors: Kuniaki
authors: K
authors: Ogasawara
authors: Akira
authors: A
authors: Ogawa
authors: Yasuhiro
authors: Y
authors: Ishibashi
authors: Toru
authors: T
authors: Kuribayashi
authors: Tomiko
authors: T
authors: Koyama
authors: Akira
authors: A
authors: Okayama
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D057566:Self Report; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein