Age, gender and lifestyle have less impact on plasma CRP in aboriginal Taiwanese than in Han-Taiwanese

Background: Plasma CRP (C-reactive protein) can help predict the prospective cardiovascular events in apparently healthy individuals. Elevated plasma CRP levels are associated with increased cardiac risk independent of lipid risk factors.

Objective: To determine the population distribution of plasma CRP and evaluate its association with age, body fatness status and lifestyle factors in elderly aboriginal and Han-Taiwanese.

Methods: Statistically analyzed data of a population representative sample of 65-year-old Taiwanese of the 1999-2000 Elderly Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan.

Results: Plasma CRP concentrations (Mean±SD, mg/L) were 2.40±1.92 and 2.58±2.11 for Han-Taiwanese men and women, and 3.43±2.58 and 2.70±1.84 for aboriginal men and women, respectively. Age was positively associated with CRP in Han-Taiwanese men whereas smoking was positively associated with CRP in both Han-Taiwanese men and women. Routine physical activity was negatively associated with CRP in Han-Taiwanese men but not in the aborigines. BMI, alcohol consumption and betel nut-chewing showed no clear association with CRP.

Conclusion: Results indicate that the aboriginal Taiwanese have higher CRP than Han-Taiwanese and ethnicity interacts with some CRP-impacting factors. Among the factors examined, age, smoking and physical activity showed significant impact on CRP in Han-Taiwanese but not in aboriginal Taiwanese. These findings may help delineate the differences in cardiovascular risk between these two ethnic populations in Taiwan.