Association between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein with arterial stiffness in healthy Korean adults

Background: The detection of preclinical arterial dysfunction may improve the ability to predict the subsequent risk of its outcomes and lead to optimal strategies to prevent overt vascular damage. The aim of this study was to investigate whether high high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is associated with increased arterial stiffness in Korean adults. Methods: The association between the hsCRP and cardiac-ankle vascular index (CAVI) was evaluated in 1347 healthy adults. Multivariate logistic analyses were done to identify the association of the hsCRP levels and high CAVI (>= 8.0). Results: The age and gender adjusted mean values of the CAVI were significantly higher in the intermediate and high hsCRP groups than in the low hsCRP group. For all the study subjects, an intermediate and high hsCRP was associated with a high CAVI after adjusting for covariates. However, this association was observed only in female subjects in gender-specific analyses and did not change after further adjustment for other variables. Conclusions: Even within the normal range, a high hsCRP level was a predictor of high CAVI in healthy adult females. This finding suggests that the risk of arteriosclerosis may be high in females whose hsCRP level is >0.1 mg/dl even in low-risk females. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.