title: Hs-CRP in stroke: A meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Studies on high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and stroke risk have yielded conflicting results.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether elevated baseline hs-CRP presents an independent risk for different kinds of strokes by conducting a meta-analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang databases were systematically searched for prospective observational studies published until January 2015. Studies reporting hs-CRP levels and adjusted risk estimates of different stroke subtypes by hs-CRP were selected. Pooled results were expressed as adjusted risk ratios (RRs), with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the highest versus the lowest hs-CRP category.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twelve studies involving 2269 strokes, of which 2436 were ischemic and 655 were hemorrhagic, were identified from 66,560 participants. When comparing the highest with the lowest hs-CRP category, the pooled RR of ischemic strokes was 1.46 (95% CI 1.27-1.67) in a fixed-effect model. The pooled RRs of all strokes and hemorrhagic stroke were 1.23 (95% CI: 0.997-1.51) and 0.82 (95% CI 0.59-1.13), respectively. The risk of ischemic strokes seemed higher in men (RR 1.66; 95% CI 1.23-2.24).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Elevated baseline hs-CRP levels are independently associated with excessive ischemic stroke risk but exhibit no clear effect on hemorrhagic stroke.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Biology & Translational Medicine, the Affiliated People's Hospital, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212002, PR China.
authors.forename: Yongjing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Shenyang Children's Hospital, Shenyang 110032, PR China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Biology & Translational Medicine, the Affiliated People's Hospital, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212002, PR China.
authors.forename: Dandan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Biology & Translational Medicine, the Affiliated People's Hospital, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212002, PR China.
authors.forename: Changfeng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Man
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Biology & Translational Medicine, the Affiliated People's Hospital, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212002, PR China. Electronic address: jszjfanyuj@163.com.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000150:complications; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein
keywords: Hemorrhagic stroke; High-sensitivity C-reactive protein; Ischemic stroke; Meta-analysis; Stroke