Associations of plasma homocysteine and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels with arterial stiffness in Chinese population： a community-based study

• Published in: Chinese medical journal Vol. 125; no. 1; pp. 44 - 49
• Main Authors: Feng, Sheng-Qiang, Ye, Ping, Luo, Lei-Ming, Xiao, Wen-Kai, Bai, Yong-Yi, Feng, Dan, Liu, De-Jun, Wu, Hong-Mei, Xu, Ru-Yi, Bai, Jie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China Department of Geriatric Cardiology Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China%Department of Medical Statistics Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China%Department of Clinical Biochemistry ,Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China 05.01.2012
• Subjects: Aged; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; C-Reactive Protein - metabolism; C-反应蛋白; China - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Homocysteine - blood; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Vascular Stiffness - physiology; 中国人口; 动脉硬化; 同型半胱氨酸; 硬度测量; 社区; 蛋白水平; 血浆; China; arterial stiffness; homocysteine; epidemiology; high-sensitivity C-reactive protein
• ISSN: 0366-6999; 2542-5641
• DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.0366-6999.2012.01.009

Background Arterial stiffness increases with age and is also associated with traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Little is known about the relations of homocysteine and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein （hs-CRP） to arterial stiffness in the Chinese community. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of plasma homocysteine and hs-CRP levels with arterial stiffness in a community-based cohort. Methods We related levels of homocysteine and hs-CRP to four measures of arterial stiffness （carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity （PWV）, carotid-radial PWV, carotid-ankle PWV and heart rate corrected augmentation index） in 1680 participants from two communities of Beijing, China. Arterial stiffness was measured within two days of the time of biomarker measurement. Results In univariate analysis, homocysteine was positively associated with the carotid-femoral PWV （r=0.211, P 〈0.0001）, carotid-radial PWV （r=0.120, P 〈0.0001） and carotid-ankle PWV （r=0.148, P 〈0.0001）, whereas it was inversely related to the augmentation index （r= -0.052, P=0.016）. Hs-CRP was positively associated with the carotid-femoral PWV （r=0.074, P=0.001） and carotid-ankle PWV （r=0.050, P=0.02）. In multiple-adjusted models （R2=0.57）, homocysteine levels remained a significant determinant of the carotid-femoral PWV （standardized 13=0.065, P=0.007）, whereas the association of hs-CRP with measurements of arterial stiffness was not present. Conclusions In the Chinese population, plasma homocysteine levels are associated with alterations of aortic stiffness, whereas plasma levels of hs-CRP are not independently related to artery stiffening.