C-Reactive Protein: Clinical and Epidemiological Perspectives

Table 3

Studies on cardiovascular risk assessment utilizing C-reactive protein.

Author (reference)	Sample	Results
Ridker et al. [62]	543 apparently healthy men	Serum CRP levels predict MI and CVD: The quartile with the highest CRP levels had a greater risk of MI (RR: 2.9; 𝑃<0.001) and CVD (RR: 1.9; 𝑃<0.02) than the lowest quartile.
Ridker et al. [71]	366 apparently healthy women (122 developed a cardiovascular event)	Serum CRP levels of patients who had a cardiovascular event were higher than control patients (𝑃=0.0001).; Patients with the highest levels had a greater risk of developing MI or CVD (RR: 7.3; 𝑃=0.0001).
Ridker et al. [72]	27939 apparently healthy women	CRP is a more powerful predictor of cardiovascular events than LDL-C.; The RR for a first cardiovascular event was, according to CRP quintiles: 1.4–1.6–2.0–2.3 (𝑃<0.001).
Cesari et al. [73]	2225 participants aged 70–79 years without previously diagnosed cardiovascular disease	Inflammatory markers are predictors of cardiovascular events in elderly patients. CRP was associated with CHF (RR: 1.48; IC: 1.23–1.78).
Ridker et al. [74]	24558 initially healthy women (≥45 years of age)	2 new algorithms were developed for the calculation of global cardiovascular risk, reclassifying a great part of women with average risk according to conventional scoring systems.
Ridker et al. [75]	10724 initially healthy women (≥50 years of age)	A new prediction model was developed for the calculation of global cardiovascular risk, including CRP and family history of cardiovascular events. Over 20.2% of the population was reclassified from the original distribution of conventional scoring systems.
Kaptoge et al. [76]	160309 subjects without history of vascular disease (54 prospective studies)	The association of CRP with vascular disease depends on other inflammatory markers and classic risk factors. After multiple adjustments, the RR for coronary disease was (1.23; IC: 1.07–1.42), for CVD (1.32; IC: 1.18–1.49), and for vascular cause mortality (1.34; IC: 1.18–1.52).
Maiorana et al. [77]	37 patients with 3 or more cardiovascular risk factors	10 patients had LDL-C >100 mg/dL, fibrinogen >350 mg/dL, and CRP >2.6 mg/L; 6 of these patients presented a positive ischemia by exercise testing and coronary disease.

CRP: C-reactive protein; MI: myocardial infarction; CVD: cerebrovascular disease; RR: relative risk; LDL-C: low-density lipoproteins; CHF: congestive heart failure; CI: confidence interval.