The relation of C - reactive protein to chronic kidney disease in African Americans: the Jackson Heart Study

We examined the cross-sectional relation of log transformed C-reactive protein (CRP) to renal function (eGFR by Modification of Diet and Renal Disease equation) in African American participants of the community-based Jackson Heart Study's first examination (2000 to 2004). We conducted multivariable linear regression relating CRP to eGFR adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, diabetes, total/HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, smoking, antihypertensive therapy, lipid lowering therapy, hormone replacement therapy, and prevalent cardiovascular disease events. In a secondary analysis we assessed the association of CRP with albuminuria (defined as albumin-to-creatinine ratio > 30 mg/g).Participants (n = 4320, 63.2% women) had a mean age ± SD of 54.0 ± 12.8 years. The prevalence of CKD was 5.2% (n = 228 cases). In multivariable regression, CRP concentrations were higher in those with CKD compared to those without CKD (mean CRP 3.2 ± 1.1 mg/L vs. 2.4 ± 1.0 mg/L, respectively p < 0.0001). CRP was significantly associated with albuminuria in sex and age adjusted model however not in the multivariable adjusted model (p > 0.05).CRP was associated with CKD however not albuminuria in multivariable-adjusted analyses. The study of inflammation in the progression of renal disease in African Americans merits further investigation.The incidence and mortality of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is disproportionately higher in African Americans compared to their white counterparts. In a 12-year follow up cohort study of 9,082 African American and white adults between 30-74 years of age, African Americans' risk of CKD was 2.7 times higher than that of whites [1]. Although high rates of hypertension, diabetes and obesity in the middle-aged African American population contribute in part to the racial difference, the disparities were not fully accounted for by risk factor burden [1].Recent data support the concept that C-reactive protein (CRP) is associated