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Is C-Reactive Protein a Reliable Risk Factor of Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality in Clinical Practice?

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Abstract

Aim: Serum C-reactive protein (sCRP) has emerged as a proxy of cardiovascular (CV) disease. The aim of this study was to verify the relationships between sCRP and other proxies of CV morbidity, and to test its reliability in predicting mortality for CV events.

Methods: We analysed the relationships between sCRP and other factors (age, gender, co-morbidities, use of statins, haemoglobin, serum creatinine, albumin, uric acid and lipid levels) involved in CV outcomes, coupled with a 5-year survival study, by reviewing the charts of the patients admitted to our unit from 1 January to 31 December 2001. Thus we ascertained the survival of the patients at 31 December 2006. Exclusion criteria were: end-stage renal disease, recent surgical interventions, therapies with steroids/NSAIDs and more than one hospitalization within the study period.

Results: Seventeen patients of our series (n = 233; 47.4% males, 16.4% with diabetes) died from CV events. The multiple regression analysis showed that log sCRP was lower in males (p = 0.025) and directly predicted by log creatinine (p = 0.043) and uric acid (p = 0.029). Log sCRP was inversely related to total cholesterol (p = 0.001). In the Cox’s regression analysis, age was the sole predictor of the 5-year mortality for CV causes (hazard ratio 1.23; 95% CI 1.11, 1.36; p < 0.0001).

Conclusions: In our practice, sCRP values were lower in males and correlated directly with serum creatinine and uric acid. Moreover, sCRP did not predict the mortality for CV events, raising the doubt that its reliability depends on the clinical setting considered.

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Acknowledgements

No sources of funding were used to assist in the preparation of this article. The authors have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this article.

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  1. Nephrology and Dialysis Unit, ‘M. Giannuzzi’ Hospital, Via Venezia 25, 74100, Manduria, Taranto, Italy

    Luigi Vernaglione, Viviana Nosella & Stefano Chimienti

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  1. Luigi Vernaglione
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  2. Viviana Nosella
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  3. Stefano Chimienti
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Correspondence to Luigi Vernaglione.

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Vernaglione, L., Nosella, V. & Chimienti, S. Is C-Reactive Protein a Reliable Risk Factor of Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality in Clinical Practice?. High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev 15, 135–139 (2008). https://doi.org/10.2165/0151642-200815030-00007

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/0151642-200815030-00007

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