DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igad104.3738 ISSN: 2399-5300

CARDIOVASCULAR AND MORTALITY RISK WITH COEXISTING HYPERTENSION, DYSLIPIDEMIA AND SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION

Thomas Karadimas, Helen Meier
  • Life-span and Life-course Studies
  • Health Professions (miscellaneous)
  • Health (social science)

Abstract

Hypertension and dyslipidemia are established risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but are often insufficient alone in predicting CVD. Inflammation also contributes to CVD, but research on the co-occurrence of inflammation, hypertension, and dyslipidemia and CVD risk is limited. Prospective data from the Health and Retirement Study, a representative cohort of US adults over 50 years of age (n = 1,527) were used. Hypertension, dyslipidemia, and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) were used to create a CVD risk: low (0-1 factors), medium (2 factors), or high (all 3 factors). Weighted logistic regression models estimated the odds ratio (OR) of 1) prevalent and incident CVD for medium and high-risk groups versus the low-risk group and 2) 4-year mortality adjusting for covariates. Cross-sectionally, high-risk participants had significantly higher odds of CVD prevalence compared to participants with low-risk (adjusted OR = 1.68, 95% CI: [1.12 - 2.53]). Prospectively, medium and high-risk participants had higher odds of 4-year CVD incidence (medium: OR = 1.41, 95% CI: [0.71 - 2.79]; high OR = 2.05, 95% CI: [0.93 - 4.53]) compared to those with low-risk, but not statistically significant. Risk of 4-year mortality was higher in both medium (OR = 2.00 95% CI: [1.21 - 3.30]) and high-risk (OR = 2.11 95% CI: [1.15 - 3.86]) participants vs. low-risk. Co-occurrence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, and elevated CRP was associated with CVD prevalence and 4-year mortality in older US adults, emphasizing the importance of multifactor screening for CVD risk.

More from our Archive