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Baseline distribution and correlation analysis of hsCRP in an insurance applicant population

Kenneth J Krause1, David S Williams, Nancy White

  • 1Swiss Re Life & Health, 175 King Street, Armonk, NY 10504, USA. kenneth_krause@swissre.com

Journal of Insurance Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
|January 6, 2009
PubMed

Insights

High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) shows potential for stratifying cardiovascular risk in life insurance applicants. Preliminary findings suggest weak correlations with BMI and triglycerides, but not other common risk factors.

Area of Science:

  • Biomedical Science
  • Cardiovascular Health
  • Biomarker Research

Background:

  • Baseline high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels predict future cardiovascular events in healthy individuals.
  • hsCRP is a marker of inflammation linked to heart attack, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the utility of hsCRP in refining cardiovascular risk assessment for life insurance underwriting.
  • To determine if hsCRP can better classify risk in both high-risk and standard-risk insurance applicants.
  • To explore the potential of hsCRP for identifying favorable cardiovascular risk profiles in healthy individuals.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of baseline characteristics in a prospective study cohort of life insurance applicants.
  • Assessment of correlations between hsCRP levels and various health and lifestyle factors during underwriting.

Main Results:

  • In this cohort, hsCRP showed a weak correlation with Body Mass Index (BMI) and triglyceride levels.
  • Contrary to some studies, hsCRP was not correlated with other lipid measures (TC, HDL, LDL), dysmetabolic markers, or smoking status in this group.

Conclusions:

  • hsCRP may offer a novel approach to cardiovascular risk stratification in life insurance underwriting.
  • Further analysis of mortality data is planned to validate the predictive value of hsCRP in this population.

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