Key result
The highest tertile of inflammatory score was associated with an elevated risk of incident cardiovascular disease compared to the lowest tertile (HR 1.25), an effect that was mitigated by adherence to a healthy lifestyle.
Why the study?
The relationship between inflammation score and cardiovascular disease was unclear, as was whether adhering to a healthy lifestyle could alleviate this association.
Does adherence to a healthy lifestyle mitigate the association between high inflammatory score and incident cardiovascular disease in middle-aged and older adults?
Cohort (n=6,164)
Yes
Does adherence to a healthy lifestyle mitigate the association between high inflammatory score and incident cardiovascular disease in middle-aged and older adults?
Hazard Ratio: 1.25 (95% CI 1.04–1.49)
p-value: p=<0.05
Adherence to a healthy lifestyle may mitigate the increased risk of cardiovascular disease associated with systemic inflammation in middle-aged and older adults.
Higher inflammation scores were associated with elevated CVD risk mitigated by healthy lifestyle; leaves open whether interventions reduce risk in trials.
Background The inflammation score is currently regarded as a reliable composite index for comprehensive assessment of inflammatory status. However, the relationship between inflammation score and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is unclear. Thus, we aimed to explore the association of inflammatory score with CVD, as well as to evaluate whether adhering to a healthy lifestyle could alleviate this association. Methods We analyzed 6,164 participants aged ≥45 years who entered a prospective cohort study of the China Longitudinal Study of Health and Retirement (CHARLS) between 2011 and 2012 and were followed up for CVD incidence untill 2018. The inflammatory score was measured by summing of the Z-scores for C-reactive protein and white blood cell count at baseline. The healthy lifestyle score was calculated by four factors, smoking status, alcohol consumption, body mass index, and sleep duration. Cox proportional hazard models were utilized to calculate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the incidence of CVD. Results During the 7-year follow-up period, there were 761 incident cases of CVD. Compared with the lowest tertiles, the highest inflammatory score was associated with an elevated risk of CVD (HR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.04–1.49). Compared to the unhealthy lifestyle, participants adhered to a healthy lifestyle was inversely associated with CVD risk (HR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.60–0.93). Of note, when participants adhered to a healthy lifestyle, the higher inflammatory score was no longer significantly correlated with CVD risk (HR = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.76–1.34). Additionally, a multiplicative interaction was detected between inflammatory score and healthy lifestyle score for CVD risk ( p interaction <0.05). Conclusion The inflammation score was associated with higher risk of CVD incidence, but adherence to a healthy lifestyle may mitigate the adverse association of inflammation score and CVD among the middle-aged and older participants.
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Zhao et al. (2025) conducted a cohort in Cardiovascular disease (n=6,164). High inflammatory score vs. Low inflammatory score was evaluated on Incidence of cardiovascular disease (HR 1.25, 95% CI 1.04-1.49, p=<0.05). The highest tertile of inflammatory score was associated with an elevated risk of incident cardiovascular disease compared to the lowest tertile (HR 1.25), an effect that was mitigated by adherence to a healthy lifestyle.
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