Association of Ideal Cardiovascular Metrics and Serum High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein in Hypertensive Population

Increased levels of the inflammatory biomarker high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, ideal cardiovascular health indicates lower risk of cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to investigate the effect of ideal cardiovascular health behaviors and health factors on hs-CRP levels among a hypertensive population. From 2006 to 2007, a cross-sectional study was conducted to survey 41,476 hypertensive subjects among the employees of Kailuan Corporation. Data from unified questionnaires and blood biochemical examinations were collected. The effects of ideal cardiovascular health behaviors and health factors on hs-CRP levels were evaluated through multivariate logistic regression analysis. A negative correlation was observed between hs-CRP levels and the number of ideal cardiovascular health metrics. The mean hs-CRP levels of subjects with zero to one, two, three, and four to six ideal cardiovascular health metrics were 1.11, 0.96, 0.90, and 0.80 mg/L, respectively (P<0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that after adjustment for sex, age, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and other risk factors, the risks for subjects with two, three, and four to six ideal health metrics with serum hs-CRP >3 mg/L were lower than those with zero to one ideal health metrics, with corresponding odd ratios of 0.86 (95%CI: 0.79–0.93, P<0.01), 0.76 (95%CI: 0.69–0.83, P<0.01), and 0.68 (95%CI: 0.64–0.75, P<0.01), respectively. This finding suggests that ideal cardiovascular health behaviors and health factors were related to decreased hs-CRP levels in a hypertensive population. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Unique identifier: ChiCTR-TNC-11001489.