Geographic variation in cardiovascular inflammation among healthy women in the Women's Health Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Geographic variation in traditional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors has been observed among women in the US. It is not known whether state-level variation in cardiovascular inflammation exists or could be explained by traditional clinical risk factors and behavioral lifestyle factors.

Methods and results

We used multilevel linear regression to estimate state-level variation in inflammatory biomarker patterns adjusted for clinical and lifestyle characteristics among 26,029 women free of CVD. Participants derived from the Women's Health Study, a national cohort of healthy middle-aged and older women. Inflammatory biomarker patterns (plasma levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), and fibrin

SUBMITTER: Clark CR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3213140 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature