Vascular Inflammation and Oxidative Stress: Major Triggers for Cardiovascular Disease

Figure 1

Impact of autoimmune antibodies and inflammation markers on cardiovascular events or mortality—associations between age or glycemic state and inflammation. (a) Hazard ratios for adverse cardiovascular outcomes in correlation with autoimmune antibodies (IgG subtype) obtained by meta-analysis and adjustment for age, sex, smoking status, adiposity markers, blood pressure, and/or lipid markers (number of cases as indicated) and adjustment for classical confounders. indicates significant differences to the control group. oxLDL = oxidized low-density lipoprotein; CCP = cyclic citrullinated protein; HSP60 = heat shock protein 60. Graph was generated from tabular data by Thomson et al. [284] for anti-nitrotyrosine or Iseme et al. [18] for all other autoimmune antibodies. (b) Hazard ratios for all coronary heart disease mortality in correlation with markers of inflammation interleukin- (IL-) 6, IL-18, matrix metalloproteinase- (MMP-) 9, soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L or CD154), and tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-) α obtained by meta-analysis and adjustment for age, sex, smoking status, adiposity markers, blood pressure, and/or lipid markers (number of cases as indicated). Risk increases are shown per 1 SD changes of cytokines. indicates significant differences to the control group. Redrawn from tabular data by Kaptoge et al. [19]. (c) Prevalence of coronary artery diseases (CAD) increases with the progressing age and gender in the general German population. Drawn from results of the DETECT study [29]. (d) Mean values of inflammatory markers (CRP = C-reactive protein and IL-6) according to the age group expressed as number of standard deviations from the sex-specific population mean to make them independent of different units of measure. Only data for men () are shown, but those for women () look very similar. Other markers of inflammation show similar correlations (e.g., IL-18 and fibrinogen). Graph was roughly estimated from tabular data by Ferrucci et al. [50]. (e) The correlation between HbA1c and potential risk factors. The correlation between HbA1c and body mass index (BMI), white blood cells (WBC), CRP, TNF-α, and IL-6 ( subjects). Graph was roughly estimated from graphical data by Wang et al. [62]. (f) The correlation between serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, oxLDL and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels, and endothelial function measured by FMD ( healthy and chronic kidney disease subjects). Graph was roughly estimated from graphical data by Yilmaz et al. [117]. indicates significant differences to the control group.

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