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Published on: April 1, 2015

Plasma fibrinogen and coronary heart disease in urban Japanese

S Sato1, M Nakamura, M Iida

  • 1Department of Epidemiology and Mass Examination, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Japan.

American Journal of Epidemiology
|September 12, 2000
PubMed

Insights

Higher plasma fibrinogen levels predict increased coronary heart disease risk in Japanese adults. This study highlights fibrinogen

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Epidemiology
  • Clinical Biochemistry

Background:

  • Limited data exists on plasma fibrinogen and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in Asian populations.
  • Japanese populations exhibit lower plasma fibrinogen concentrations compared to Western standards.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between plasma fibrinogen concentration and the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in an urban Japanese cohort.
  • To determine if plasma fibrinogen is a useful predictor of cardiovascular events in this population.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective study with 4.8 years of follow-up.
  • 11,977 men and women aged 21-89 years in Osaka, Japan (1990-1996).
  • Cox proportional hazards model used to adjust for cardiovascular risk factors.

Main Results:

  • Elevated mean fibrinogen levels observed in participants who developed CHD (men: 293.6 mg/dl, women: 355.2 mg/dl) compared to those without CHD (men: 261.6 mg/dl, women: 276.8 mg/dl).
  • The highest fibrinogen quartile (> or =295 mg/dl) showed a 4.8-fold increased risk for CHD (p=0.01) and a 3.8-fold increased risk for myocardial infarction (p=0.04) compared to the lowest quartile (<228 mg/dl).

Conclusions:

  • Plasma fibrinogen concentration is a significant predictor of coronary heart disease risk in urban Japanese individuals.
  • Despite relatively low average levels, plasma fibrinogen remains a valuable biomarker for cardiovascular risk assessment in this population.

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