Background and objectives: Serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is a marker of inflammation and may lead to the development of atherosclerosis, adversely affecting mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between baseline hs-CRP level and 12-month clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) according to their body mass index (BMI) status.
Subjects and methods: Using data from the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry from November 2005 to September 2008, a total of 8174 consecutive AMI patients were studied. Cox proportional hazard model revealed that higher baseline levels of hs-CRP was associated with 12-month all-cause mortality (p=0.045). To further understand this association, patients were divided into 3 groups based on their body mass index: 1) overweight/obese, 2) normal weight, and 3) underweight patients. Then each group was stratified into quartiles based on their hs-CRP.
Results: In overweight/obese patients, Cox model showed significant association of hs-CRP with 12-month mortality when adjusted for age and gender (p<0.001), however, after adjustment with multiple covariates, mortality was highest in the 4th quartile {HR 2.382, (1.079-5.259), p=0.032} though statistically insignificant (p=0.172). We observed no significant association of serum hs-CRP with 12-month mortality in normal weight (p=0.681) and underweight (p=0.760) patients.
Conclusion: Higher baseline hs-CRP level (≥4.08 mg/dL) in overweight/obese AMI patients showed significant association with 12-month all-cause mortality independent of other prognostic markers.
Keywords: Body mass index; C-reactive protein; Myocardial infarction; Obesity; Overweight.