Common variants in the CRP gene in relation to longevity and cause-specific mortality in older adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study

Atherosclerosis. 2008 Apr;197(2):922-30. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2007.08.012. Epub 2007 Sep 21.

Abstract

Common polymorphisms in the CRP gene are associated with plasma CRP levels in population-based studies, but associations with age-related events are uncertain. A previous study of CRP haplotypes in older adults was broadened to include longevity and cause-specific mortality (all-cause, noncardiovascular (non-CV), and cardiovascular (CV)). Common haplotypes were inferred from four tagSNPs in 4512 whites and five tagSNPs in 812 blacks from the Cardiovascular Health Study, a longitudinal cohort of adults over age 65. Exploratory analyses addressed early versus late mortality. CRP haplotypes were not associated with all-cause mortality or longevity overall in either population, but associations with all-cause mortality differed during early and late periods. In blacks, the haplotype tagged by 3872A (rs1205) was associated with increased risk of non-CV mortality, relative to other haplotypes (adjusted hazard ratio for each additional copy: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.87). Relative to other haplotypes, this haplotype was associated with decreased risk of early but not decreased risk of late CV mortality in blacks; among whites, a haplotype tagged by 2667C (rs1800947) gave similar but nonsignificant findings. If confirmed, CRP genetic variants may be weakly associated with CV and non-CV mortality in older adults, particularly in self-identified blacks.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Black or African American / genetics*
  • C-Reactive Protein / genetics*
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / ethnology
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / genetics
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / mortality
  • Cause of Death
  • Cohort Studies
  • Female
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease / genetics*
  • Haplotypes
  • Humans
  • Linear Models
  • Longevity / genetics
  • Male
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / genetics*
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • United States

Substances

  • C-Reactive Protein