01939nas a2200157   4500000000100000008004100001653002800042100001200070700002200082700001800104700001400122245013300136300001100269490000800280520149300288       2003                            d10aCardiovascular Diseases1 aLowe G.1 aTunstall-Pedoe H.1 aWoodward Mark1 aRumley A.00aC-reactive protein: associations with haematological variables, cardiovascular risk factors and prevalent cardiovascular disease  a135-410 v1223 a<p>
C-reactive protein (CRP) has been proposed as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease; however, this association is confounded by mutual relationships with both classical and haematological cardiovascular risk factors. We, therefore, measured CRP with a high-sensitivity assay in stored plasma samples from 414 men and 515 women in the north Glasgow MONICA (MONItoring trends in CArdiovascular diseases) survey, to study its correlation with haematological variables, classical risk factors and prevalent cardiovascular disease. CRP correlated with age, oral contraceptive use, menopause and most classical cardiovascular risk factors (except blood pressure). CRP also correlated with plasma levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 6, and haematocrit, viscosity, red cell aggregation, white cell count, and coagulation factors [fibrinogen, factor (F) VII in women, FVIII, FIX] and inhibitors (antithrombin and protein C in women; protein S) but not coagulation activation markers. CRP was significantly associated with prevalent cardiovascular disease in both men (P = 0.03) and women (P = 0.009), however, the association became non-significant after adjustment for firstly classical risk factors, then fibrinogen. We conclude that correlations with classical and haematological risk factors account for a substantial component of the association of CRP with prevalent cardiovascular disease, but there is evidence of a residual, independent effect among women.
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