The C-reactive protein Albumin ratio was not consistently associated with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in two community-based cohorts of 70-year-olds

• Published in: Scandinavian journal of clinical and laboratory investigation Vol. 83; no. 7; pp. 439 - 443
• Main Authors: Wändell, Per, Carlsson, Axel Carl, Larsson, Anders, Ärnlöv, Johan, Feldreich, Tobias, Ruge, Toralph
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: albumin; blood pressure; Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems; Cardiovascular mortality; Clinical Medicine; cRP; diabetes; Kardiologi; Klinisk medicin; Medical and Health Sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap
• ISSN: 0036-5513; 1502-7686; 1502-7686
• DOI: 10.1080/00365513.2023.2255971

C-reactive protein (CRP)/Albumin ratio (CAR) seems to mirror disease severity and prognosis in several acute disorders particularly in elderly patients, which we aimed to study. As method we use a prospective study design; the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS; n = 912, women 50%; mean age 70 years, baseline 2001 and 2004, median follow-up 15.0 years, end of follow-up 2019) and the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men (ULSAM, n = 924 mean age 71 years, baseline 1991-1995, median follow-up 15.6 years, end of follow-up 2016). Serum samples were used for analyses of CRP and Albumin. Cox regression analyses were performed for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in models adjusting for several factors (age; physical activity; Interleukin-6; cardiovascular (CVD) risk factors: smoking, BMI level, systolic blood pressure, LDL-cholesterol, and diabetes), with 95% confidence interval (CI). When adjusting for age and CVD risk factors, CAR was significantly associated with cardiovascular mortality for meta-analyzed results from PIVUS and ULSAM, HR 1.09 (95% 1.01-1.18), but neither in PIVUS (HR 1.14, 95% CI 0.99-1.31) nor in ULSAM (1.07, 95% CI 0.98-1.17). Additionally, CAR was significantly associated with all-cause mortality in ULSAM 1.31 (95% CI 1.12-1.54) but not in PIVUS HRs 1.01 (95% 0.089-1.15). The predictive value of CAR was similar to CRP alone in PIVUS and ULSAM and slightly better than albumin for the prediction of CVD-mortality in ULSAM. In conclusion, CAR was not consistently associated with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in the two cohorts. The prognostic value of CAR for long-term CVD-mortality was similar to CRP.