Received on April 22, 2004
Accepted on May 27, 2004

Lipids, Lipoproteins, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Prevalence of High C-Reactive Protein in Persons with Serum Lipid Concentrations within Recommended Values

¹ Department of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: uajani{at}cdc.gov.

Background: C-Reactive protein (CRP) has been shown to be a strong predictor of coronary heart disease (CHD) and is being considered in cardiovascular risk disease assessment. The number of normolipidemic individuals who are eligible for evaluation of CRP in overall CHD risk assessment is not known.

Methods: We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2000 and computed the prevalence of high CRP (>3 mg/L) among normolipidemic adults. We also computed the prevalence among individuals free of CHD and diabetes. In addition, we examined the prevalence stratified by body mass index.

Results: The prevalence of high CRP among those with lipid concentrations within recommended values ranged from 28.8% to 35.3% depending on the lipid fraction examined. Exclusion of individuals with CHD or diabetes and those with CRP concentrations >10 mg/L reduced the prevalence range (23.1-27.1%). Prevalence increased with increasing body mass index.

Conclusions: In 2000, 12 million adults in the United States considered normolipidemic had high CRP concentrations. Additional studies to explore the role of CRP in cardiovascular disease risk assessment are needed.