Abstract
Background and aims
This study aimed to investigate the association between cumulative C-reactive protein (cumCPR) and arterial stiffness.
Methods
The cross-sectional study included 15,432 participants from the Kailuan Cohort. The participants were divided into four groups according to cumCRP quartiles. The average brachial–ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and detective rate of increased arterial stiffness were compared between exposure groups. Statistical analysis was performed with multiple logistic regression analysis to estimate the association between cumCRP and arterial stiffness by calculating the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The several sensitivity analyses were performed to test the robustness of our findings.
Results
The average baPWV increased from 1425.70 cm/s of Q1 group to 1626.48 cm/s of Q4 group. And the detective rate of arterial stiffness increased from 44.7 to 70.1% (P < 0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting the confounding factors, compared to the Q1 group, the Q4 group had 42% (adjusted OR 1.42; 95% CI 1.24–1.63) higher arterial stiffness risk. In addition, 10% (adjusted OR 1.10; 95% CI 1.02–1.18) arterial stiffness risk was increased per 1 standard deviation (SD) of cumCRP after a fully adjusted regression model.
Conclusion
Higher cumCRP exposure is associated with increased arterial stiffness.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Sawabe M (2010) Vascular aging: from molecular mechanism to clinical significance. Geriatr Gerontol Int 10:S213–S220
Karin Willeit, Stefan Kiechl (2014) Atherosclerosis and atrial fibrillation–two closely intertwined diseases. Atherosclerosis 233:679–681
Sutton-Tyrrell K, Najjar SS, Boudreau RM et al (2005) Elevated aortic pulse wave velocity, a marker of arterial stiffness, predicts cardiovascular events in well-functioning older adults. Circulation 111:3384–3390
Pepys MB, Baltz ML (1983) Acute phase proteins with special reference to C-reactive protein and related proteins (pentaxins) and serum amyloid A protein. Adv Immunol 34:141–212
Laurent S, Cockcroft J, Van Bortel L et al (2006) Expert consensus document on arterial stiffness: methodological issues and clinical applications. Eur Heart J 27:2588–2605
Libby P, Okamoto Y, Rocha VZ et al (2010) Inflammation in atherosclerosis: transition from theory to practice. Circ J 74:213–220
Yasmin, McEniery CM, Wallace S et al (2004) C-reactive protein is associated with arterial stiffness in apparently healthy individuals. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 24:969–974
Tsai SS, Lin YS, Lin CP et al (2015) Metabolic syndrome-associated risk factors and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein independently predict arterial stiffness in 9903 Subjects With and Without Chronic Kidney Disease. Medicine (Baltimore) 94:e1419
Oh EG, Kim SH, Bang SY et al (2012) High-sensitivity C-reactive protein is independently associated with arterial stiffness in women with metabolic syndrome. J Cardiovasc Nurs 27:61–67
Taverner D, Paredes S, Ferré R et al (2019) Assessment of arterial stiffness variables in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a mediation analysis. Sci Rep 9:4543
Mahmud A, Feely J (2005) Arterial stiffness is related to systemic inflammation in essential hypertension. Hypertension 46:1118–1122
Sun WX, Jin D, Li Y et al (2014) Increased arterial stiffness in stable and severe asthma. Respir Med 108:57–62
Wu SL, Li JF, Li Y et al (2010) The distribution and influential factors of serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein in general population. Zhonghua Nei Ke Za Zhi 49:1010–1014
Sproston NR, Ashworth JJ (2018) Role of C-reactive protein at sites of inflammation and infection. Front Immunol 9:754
Zhang Q, Zhou Y, Gao X et al (2013) Ideal cardiovascular health metrics and the risks of ischemic and intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke. Stroke 44:2451–2456
Wu S, Huang Z, Yang X et al (2012) Prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health and its relationship with the 4-year cardiovascular events in a northern chinese industrial city. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 5:487–493
Zheng X, Zhang R, Liu X et al (2017) Association between cumulative exposure to ideal cardiovascular health and arterial stiffness. Atherosclerosis 260:56–62
Yamashina A, Tomiyama H, Arai T et al (2003) Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity as a marker of atherosclerotic vascular damage and cardiovascular risk. Hypertens Res 26:615–622
Sun L, Li C, Liu J et al (2017) Predictive value for cumulative heart rate exposure in new-onset impaired fasting glucose and diabetes mellitus. Int J Clin Exp Med 10:3069–3078
Zemaitis P, Liu K, Jacobs DR Jr et al (2014) Cumulative systolic BP and changes in urine albumin-to-creatinine ratios in nondiabetic participants of the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 9:1922–1929
Domanski MJ, Mitchell GF, Norman JE et al (1999) Independent prognostic information provided by sphygmomanometrically determined pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure in patients with left ventricular dysfunction. J Am Coll Cardiol 33:951–958
Shroff GR, Cen YY, Duprez DA et al (2009) Relationship between carotid artery stiffness index, BNP and high-sensitivity CRP. J Hum Hypertens 23:783–787
Nagano M, Nakamura M, Sato Kenyu TF et al (2005) Association between serum C-reactive protein levels and pulse wave velocity: a population-based cross-sectional study in a general population. Atherosclerosis 180:189–195
McEniery CM, Spratt M, Munnery M et al (2010) An analysis of prospective risk factors for aortic stiffness in men: 20-year follow-up from the caerphilly prospective study. Hypertension 56:36–43
Wang X, Du Y, Fan L et al (2013) Relationships between HDL-C, hs-CRP, with central arterial stiffness in apparently healthy people undergoing a general health examination. PLoS One 8:e81778
Saijo Y, Utsugi M, Yoshioka E et al (2009) Inflammation as a cardiovascular risk factor and pulse wave velocity as a marker of early-stage atherosclerosis in the Japanese population. Environ Health Prev Med 14:159–164
Provan SA, Angel K, Semb AG et al (2011) Early prediction of increased arterial stiffness in patients with chronic inflammation: a 15-year followup study of 108 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol 38:606–612
Jae SY, Heffernan KS, Yoon ES et al (2012) Pulsatile stress, inflammation and change in arterial stiffness. J Atheroscler Thromb 19:1035–1042
McEniery CM, Spratt M, Munnery M et al (2010) An analysis of prospective risk factors for aortic stiffness in men: 20-year follow-up from the Caerphilly prospective study. Hypertension 56:36–43
Johansen NB, Vistisen D, Brunner EJ et al (2012) Determinants of aortic stiffness: 16-year follow-up of the Whitehall II study. PLoS One 7:e37165
Cavalcante JL, Lima JA, Redheuil A et al (2011) Aortic stiffness: current understanding and future directions. J Am Coll Cardiol 57:1511–1522
Sugawara J, Hayashi K, Yokoi T et al (2005) Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity: an index of central arterial stiffness? J Hum Hypertens 19:401–406
Tanaka H, Munakata M, Kawano Y et al (2009) Comparison between carotid-femoral and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity as measures of arterial stiffness. J Hypertens 27:2022–2027
Vlachopoulos C, Aznaouridis K, Terentes-Printzios D et al (2012) Prediction of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality with brachial-ankle elasticity index: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Hypertension 60:556–562
Takashima N, Turin TC, Matsui K et al (2014) The relationship of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity to future cardiovascular disease events in the general Japanese population: the Takashima Study. J Hum Hypertens 28:323–327
Verma S, Kuliszewski MA, Li SH et al (2004) C-reactive protein attenuates endothelial progenitor cell survival, differentiation, and function: further evidence of a mechanistic link between C-reactive protein and cardiovascular disease. Circulation 109:2058–2067
Verma S, Badiwala MV, Weisel RD et al (2003) C-reactive protein activates the nuclear factor-kappaB signal transduction pathway in saphenous vein endothelial cells: implications for atherosclerosis and restenosis. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 126:1886–1891
Bucova M, Bernadic M, Buckingham T (2008) C-reactive protein, cytokines and inflammation in cardiovascular diseases. Bratisl Lek Listy 109:333–340
Taleb S (2016) Inflammation in atherosclerosis. Arch Cardiovasc Dis 109:708–715
Abe N, Osanai T, Fujiwara T et al (2006) C-reactive protein-induced upregulation of extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer in macrophages: inhibitory effect of fluvastatin. Life Sci 78:1021–1028
Cecelja M, Chowienczyk P (2010) Arterial stiffening: cause and prevention. Hypertension 56:29–30
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the Group Company of Chinese Kailuan. The contributions of the general practitioners of the Kailuan Study are also gratefully acknowledged.
Funding
None.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
CN, JL, LS, and SW designed and initiated the study. CN, TY, LZ, LZ, and XZ assisted in data collection. CN, YG, and XW performed the statistical analysis. CN and LS wrote the first draft of the article. All authors made critical comments on the manuscript and took part in interpretation of the results. RZ, LS, and SW supervised the study.
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declared that there is no duality of interest associated with this manuscript.
Ethical approval
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Kailuan Medical Group, Kailuan Company, Tangshan, Hebei Province. Research has been conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.
Statement of human and animal rights
This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.
Informed consent
Written informed consent was obtained from all the participants of this study.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sun, L., Ning, C., Liu, J. et al. The association between cumulative C-reactive protein and brachial–ankle pulse wave velocity. Aging Clin Exp Res 32, 789–796 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-019-01274-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-019-01274-8