Received on July 28, 2008
Accepted on November 18, 2008

Lipids, Lipoproteins, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors

C-Reactive Protein Concentrations Are Very High and More Stable Over Time Than the Traditional Vascular Risk Factors Total Cholesterol and Systolic Blood Pressure in an Australian Aboriginal Cohort

¹ Menzies School of Health Research, John Mathews Building, Royal Darwin Hospital, Darwin, NT, Australia; Institute of Advanced Studies, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, Australia, and The University of Melbourne, Department of Medicine, St Vincent's Hospital, Fitzroy, VIC, Australia
² The University of Melbourne, Department of Medicine, St Vincent's Hospital, Fitzroy, VIC, Australia, and Onemda VicHealth Koori Health Unit, Centre for Health and Society, School of Population Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
³ The University of Melbourne, Department of Medicine, St Vincent's Hospital, Fitzroy, VIC, Australia

BACKGROUND: Stability of circulating high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) concentrations has implications for its utility in assessing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. We sought to determine hsCRP reproducibility in an indigenous Australian cohort with a view to use hsCRP as a marker of future CVD in community-based risk-factor screenings.

METHODS: Seventy people living in a community on the northern coast of Australia participated in 2 risk-factor screenings over a median (interquartile range) follow-up time of 829 (814–1001) days. hsCRP was measured by high-sensitivity nephelometry.

RESULTS: Geometric mean hsCRP concentrations at baseline and follow-up were 4.5 and 5.1 mg/L, respectively (P = 0.220), and Pearson product-moment correlation was 0.775. The proportion of people at high CVD risk (hsCRP >3.0 mg/L) at baseline was 67.1% and remained consistently high (68.6%) at follow-up. Linear regression analysis for follow-up hsCRP as a function of baseline hsCRP, sex, and differences in total and regional body fatness showed that baseline hsCRP was the single predictor in the model, accounting for 63.9% of the total variance in follow-up hsCRP (P_model < 0.001). Prevalence agreement (95% CI) between baseline and follow-up for the hsCRP >3.0 mg/L category was 84% (73%–92%) (P_McNemar = not significant), and coefficient was fair (0.64, compared with 0.31 for systolic blood pressure 140 mmHg and 0.43 for total cholesterol 5.5 mmol/L).

CONCLUSIONS: hsCRP concentrations remained consistently reproducible over time across a wide concentration range in an Aboriginal cohort. Correlations between concentrations over time were better than for other traditional CVD risk factors. hsCRP concentration has potential as a marker of future CVD risk.