Relationship between airway obstruction and C-reactive protein levels in a community-based population of Korea

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels and lung function in a community-based cohort of South Korea.DESIGN: The Ansung-Ansan cohort database (an ongoing prospective study of a community-based population) was used in the analysis. We defined airway obstruction as the ratio between forced expiratory volume in 1 sec:forced vital capacity ratio (FEV1:FVC) of <95% of the predicted value for a healthy person. We also used the serum level of hs-CRP as a marker of inflammation. Multivariate analysis was performed with adjustment for the clinical characteristics of the participants.RESULTS: A total of 5528 individuals were eligible for the study. The average age was 55.1 years, and 47.8% were males. The prevalence of airway obstruction was 9.0%, and the mean hs-CRP level was 1.51 mg/dl. Serum hs-CRP levels increased with the severity of airway obstruction, and the latter worsened with an increase in the hs-CRP level. In multivariate analysis, as the hs-CRP level increased, FEV1 and FVC decreased. A higher FEV1:FVC ratio was associated with lower hs-CRP levels in males.CONCLUSION: Higher hs-CRP levels were associated with decreased FEV1 and FVC in a general population of Korea. The FEV1:FVC ratio decreased with an increase in the hs-CRP level in males.

Association of high-sensitivity CRP and FEV1%pred: a study on non-pulmonary disease in a population in Beijing, China

“…We reviewed the literature related to hsCRP and lung function and summarised the characteristics of 17 relevant studies published from 2006 to the present3 14–29 (online supplemental appendix E9). The published studies on the association between CRP levels and lung function have certain limitations: (1) most studies did not use hsCRP, thereby failing to accurately address the association between low CRP levels and lung function; (2) most studies did not examine data from a population without underlying lung disease, thereby failing to exclude the influence of underlying lung disease biasing the study conclusions; (3) the age of the population in most studies was either young or broad, focusing on individuals aged 20–85 years without precise targeting of the key study population, which increased the bias due to age in the study results; (4) no Chinese studies have investigated the association between hsCRP and lung function and (5) most of these studies lacked clinical application value.…”