Associations of plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein concentrations with all-cause and cause-specific mortality among middle-aged and elderly individuals

TitleAssociations of plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein concentrations with all-cause and cause-specific mortality among middle-aged and elderly individuals
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2019
AuthorsLi, Z-H, Zhong, W-F, Bin Lv, Y-, Kraus, VByers, Gao, X, Chen, P-L, Huang, Q-M, Ni, J-D, Shi, X-M, Mao, C, Wu, X-B
JournalImmunity & Ageing
Volume16
Pagination28
Date PublishedNov 2019
ISSN Number1742-4933
KeywordsC-reactive protein, Genetics, Mortality
Abstract

Background
The association of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) with mortality is controversial. We aimed to investigate the associations of hsCRP concentrations with the risks of all-cause and cause-specific mortality and identify potential modifying factors affecting these associations among middle-aged and elderly individuals.

Methods
This community-based prospective cohort study included 14,220 participants aged 50+ years (mean age: 64.9 years) from the Health and Retirement Study. Cox proportional hazard models were employed to estimate the associations between the hsCRP concentrations and the risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality with adjustment for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, self-reported medical history, and other potential confounders.

Results
In total, 1730 all-cause deaths were recorded, including 725 cardiovascular- and 417 cancer-related deaths, after an 80,572 person-year follow-up (median: 6.4 years; range: 3.6–8.1 years). The comparisons of the groups with the highest (quartile 4) and lowest (quartile 1) hsCRP concentrations revealed that the adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were 1.50 (1.31–1.72) for all-cause mortality, 1.44 (1.13–1.82) for cardiovascular mortality, and 1.67 (1.23–2.26) for cancer mortality. The associations between high hsCRP concentrations and the risks of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality were similar in the men and women (P for interaction > 0.05).

Conclusions
Among middle-aged and older individuals, elevated hsCRP concentration could increase the risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality in men and women.

URLhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12979-019-0168-5
DOI10.1186/s12979-019-0168-5
Citation KeyLi2019