Elevation of C-reactive protein in people with prehypertension

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship of C-reactive protein (CRP) and blood pressure (BP) across the range of BP categories including prehypertension. The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) data collected from 1988 to 1994 were analyzed. In unadjusted analyses, there was a step-wise increase in the probability of elevated CRP across a wide range of BP categories. Prehypertensive participants had a higher prevalence of elevated CRP than normotensive people (27.4% vs. 19.8%; p<05). After adjustment for age, gender, race, smoking, body mass index, exercise, diabetes, and medication usage, participants with systolic BP 120-139 mm Hg or diastolic BP 80-89 mm Hg were more likely to have elevated CRP than people with systolic BP <120 (odds ratio, 1.36; 95% confidence interval, 1.14-1.62; odds ratio, 1.20; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.41, respectively). CRP and BP are positively related across a wide range of BP categories. A substantial proportion of prehypertensive individuals have elevated CRP independent of multiple confounders.