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Plasma fibrinogen and ischemic heart disease risk factors
1Institute of Social Medicine, Glostrup Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Insights
Smoking, low social class, high LDL cholesterol, and low HDL cholesterol are key factors associated with elevated plasma fibrinogen levels. Physical inactivity and psychological issues also play a role in cardiovascular health.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular epidemiology
- Clinical biochemistry
Background:
- Plasma fibrinogen is a key protein in blood coagulation and a marker for cardiovascular disease risk.
- Understanding the multifactorial associations with plasma fibrinogen is crucial for targeted prevention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between various risk factors and plasma fibrinogen levels in a population-based study.
- To identify independent predictors of elevated plasma fibrinogen among social, psychological, behavioral, and physiological variables.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional population study including 439 51-year-old men.
- Data collected via questionnaires and health examinations.
- Multivariate analyses to assess independent associations with plasma fibrinogen.
Main Results:
- Independent positive associations found for low social class, abdominal pain index, personal/economic problems, smoking, physical inactivity, low HDL cholesterol, low physical fitness, and high LDL cholesterol.
- Strongest independent associations identified for smoking, social class, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol.
- Smoking emerged as a major risk factor for elevated plasma fibrinogen.
Conclusions:
- Plasma fibrinogen levels are influenced by a combination of social, psychological, behavioral, and physiological factors.
- Lifestyle factors like smoking and physical activity, alongside socioeconomic status and lipid profiles, are significant determinants.
- These findings highlight the complex interplay of risk factors impacting cardiovascular health via plasma fibrinogen.
Abstract:
The association between risk factors for ischemic heart disease and plasma fibrinogen level was analyzed in a cross-sectional population study. All 51-year-old men living in a certain area within the county of Copenhagen were invited; 439 of 542 (81%) participated in the study. Data were collected via questionnaire and at health examinations. The following independent variables were analyzed: social variables, which included social class, marital status, and job strain; psychological and psychosomatic variables, which included abdominal pain, personal and economic problems, self-assessed state of health, and degree of loneliness; behavioral variables, which included smoking, drug consumption, physical activity, use of sugar, and alcohol consumption; and physiological variables, which included high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, physical fitness, fasting glucose level, waist-to-hip ratio, and systolic blood pressure. In the multivariate analyses, the following variables showed an independent positive association with plasma fibrinogen level: one social variable (low social class); two psychological variables (abdominal pain index and personal/economic problems); two behavioral variables (smoking and physical inactivity during leisure time); and three physiological variables (low HDL cholesterol, low physical fitness, and high LDL cholesterol). The strongest independent associations with plasma fibrinogen level were found for smoking, social class, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol. These analyses suggest that smoking is a major risk factor for an elevated plasma fibrinogen level, but that other factors such as social class, cholesterol level, physical inactivity/physical fitness, and psychological problems also influence plasma fibrinogen level.