Population Distributions of C-reactive Protein in Apparently Healthy Men and Women in the United States: Implication for Clinical Interpretation
Population
22,403 apparently healthy US adults free of cardiovascular disease at study entry and during follow-up…
Design
Cross-sectional
Authors
Discussion
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Implication
Offers population-based CRP references for healthy adults; leaves open outcome validation of proposed cutpoints before clinical use.
Key Points
- This study aims to examine the frequency distribution of C-reactive protein levels in apparently healthy adults to suggest new clinical cutpoints for risk assessment.
- Analyzed CRP measurements in 22,403 US adults from multiple studies including PHS, AFCAPS/TexCAPS, WHI, and WHS.
- Excluded individuals with cardiovascular disease and those on confounding medications to ensure accuracy in results.
- Identified new CRP cutpoints for clinical interpretation based on frequency distributions in a healthy population.
- Demonstrated that CRP levels within the reference interval can still predict significant health risks, such as myocardial infarction and stroke.
Structured PICO
P
Population
22,403 apparently healthy US adults (men and women) free of cardiovascular disease at study entry and during follow-up, participating in the Physicians’ Health Study (PHS), AFCAPS/TexCAPS, Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), and Women’s Health Study (WHS).
O
Outcome
Frequency distribution of CRP and proposed new CRP cutpoints for clinical interpretationsurrogate
Provides population-based frequency distributions of high-sensitivity CRP in healthy US adults to establish clinical cutpoints for cardiovascular risk assessment.
Cite This Study
Rifai et al. (2003) studied this question.