Background: The use of serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs-CRP) for cardiovascular risk profiling requires knowledge of the distribution in different populations. We studied serum hs-CRP in a healthy Brazilian population, with no evidence of heart disease, relative to gender and smoking status as well as other clinical and laboratory variables. Methods: 684 healthy Brazilian individuals, aged 14-74 years(mean 40-.6 years), 295 men(43.1%) and 389 women(56.9%), were enrolled between July 1998 and July 2001. The relationship between the log-transformed hs-CRP, stratified by gender and smoking status(non-smokers, smokers), and clinical and laboratory variables were analyzed using the Spearman correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression. Results: In a multiple linear regression model age(β=1.0069, p=0.03), body mass index(BMI) (β=1.0093, p< 0.01), total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio(TC/HDL-C)(β=1.1015, p< 0.01) and heart rate(β=1.0139, p< 0.01) were independently correlated with hs-CRP. Stratification according to gender and smoking was able to disclose different interactions between these variables and hs-CRP. Variables significantly correlated in each stratum were as follows: in smoker men, age(β=1.0236, p=0.04) and TC/HDL-C (β=1.2065, p< 0.01); in non-smoker men, BMI(β=1.0786, p< 0.01) and TC/HDL-C(β=1.1397, p=0.01); in smoker women, BMI(β=1.1006, p=0.03); and in non-smoker women, BMI (β=1.0873, p< 0.01), TC/HDL-C(β=1.1405, p=0.01) and heart rate(β=1.0165, p=0.02). Conclusions: The clinical and laboratory variables studied influenced the concentration of hs-CRP according to gender and smoking. In assessing the risk of cardiovascular events in relation to serum hs-CRP level, stratification by gender and smoking status is indicated.
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