Associations between C-Reactive Protein and Apolipoproteins, Lipoprotein (a) and Conventional Serum Lipids in Outpatients: Correlations and Time Trends

Christian Löwbeer^1,2*, Lena Mårtensson¹, Elisabeth Berg³, Hans Wallinder¹

¹Department of Clinical Chemistry, Aleris Medilab, Täby, Sweden.
²Division of Clinical Chemistry, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
³Medical Statistics Unit, Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

DOI: 10.4236/ojcd.2015.52006                

Abstract

Background: Correlations between CRP and serum lipids are weak, and there are conflicting and incomplete results in the literature. The aim of the present study was to clarify the strength and independence of relationships between CRP and serum lipids in outpatients. Methods: Inclusion criteria were outpatients where all the following analyses were requested in clinical routine: high sensitivity CRP, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, ApoB, ApoA-1 and Lp(a). Data for patients meeting the above criteria during a period of six years (2004-2010) were copied from Aleris Medilab’s Laboratory Information System to the software Statistica. Basic statistics and correlations were calculated for 2771 patients. In patients with two (n = 959) or more sampling times changes over time were calculated. The study was a quality assurance project without access to patient files. Results: Median age was 59 years and median serum CRP concentration was 1.5 mg/L. The strongest correlations (Spearman R) were seen between CRP and triglycerides (0.25), ApoB/ApoA-1 ratio (0.21) and HDL-cholesterol (−0.18). Stepwise regression analysis showed that ApoB, total cholesterol, log triglycerides and log Lp(a) together explained 8% of the variation in log CRP. Unfavourable time trends for CRP and triglycerides counteracted a significant decrease in LDL-cholesterol and total cholesterol. Conclusion: In a large cohort of outpatients CRP showed stronger correlation with triglycerides and ApoB/ApoA-1 ratio than with LDL-cholesterol and Lp(a). LDL-cholesterol concentrations changed favorably over time whereas CRP and triglycerides did not.

Keywords

CRP, Cholesterol, LDL, HDL, ApoB, ApoA-1, Triglycerides, Lp(a), Outpatients, Risk Factors

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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