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(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2005;25:1237.)
© 2005 American Heart Association, Inc.

Atherosclerosis and Lipoproteins

Elevated Serum C-Reactive Protein Levels and Advanced Atherosclerosis in Youth

Arthur W. Zieske; Russell P. Tracy; C. Alex McMahan; Edward E. Herderick; Satoki Homma; Gray T. Malcom; Henry C. McGill, Jr; Jack P. Strong for the Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth Research Group

From the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (A.W.Z., S.H., G.T.M., J.P.S.), New Orleans; the University of Vermont, Burlington (R.P.T.); the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (C.A.M., H.C.M.); the Ohio State University (E.E.H.), Columbus; and the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (H.C.M.), San Antonio, Tex.

Correspondence to Henry C. McGill, Jr, MD, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, PO Box 760549, San Antonio, TX 78245-0549. E-mail hmcgill{at}icarus.sfbr.org

Objective— To determine the associations among serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration, age, sex, risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD), and atherosclerosis in young people.

Methods and Results— In 1244 subjects 15 to 34 years of age, we measured gross atherosclerotic lesions in the right coronary artery (RCA) and abdominal aorta (AA) and American Heart Association (AHA) lesion grade in the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery; serum CRP, lipoprotein cholesterol, and thiocyanate (for smoking) concentrations; intimal thickness of renal arteries (for hypertension); glycohemoglobin (for hyperglycemia); and body mass index (for obesity). Serum CRP levels increased with age, were higher in women than in men, and were positively related to obesity and hyperglycemia. Serum CRP 10 mg/L was associated with more extensive gross raised lesions in the RCA after age 25 and in the AA after age 30. Serum CRP 3 was associated with a greater prevalence of AHA grade 5 lesions in the proximal LAD coronary artery after age 25. The associations of CRP with lesions were independent of the traditional CHD risk factors.

Conclusion— Serum CRP level is independently associated with advanced atherosclerosis in young persons.

In young subjects 15 to 34 years of age, serum CRP concentration was associated with raised lesions in the abdominal aorta and right coronary artery, and with American Heart Association grade 5 lesions in the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery, independently of traditional coronary heart disease risk factors.

Key Words: atherosclerosis • youth • risk factors • C-reactive protein • coronary heart disease

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