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Fibrinogen and associated risk factors in a high-risk population: urban Indigenous Australians, the DRUID Study

Louise J Maple-Brown1, Joan Cunningham, Nirjhar Nandi

  • 1Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia. louise.maple-brown@menzies.edu.au

Cardiovascular Diabetology
|October 30, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Fibrinogen levels are linked to cardiovascular disease risk factors in urban Indigenous Australians. C-reactive protein and HbA1c are key predictors, suggesting fibrinogen may indicate risk in this population.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular epidemiology
  • Biomarker research
  • Indigenous health

Background:

  • Epidemiological data links fibrinogen and C-reactive protein (CRP) to coronary heart disease (CHD) risk.
  • Previous studies, including the DRUID study, noted elevated CRP levels in Indigenous Australians.
  • This research investigates fibrinogen levels and their relationship with cardiovascular risk factors in an urban Indigenous Australian cohort.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine fibrinogen levels in an urban Indigenous Australian population.
  • To determine the cross-sectional associations between fibrinogen and traditional/non-traditional cardiovascular risk factors.
  • To identify independent predictors of fibrinogen in this cohort.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of fibrinogen data from 287 males and 628 females (aged ≥ 15 years) from the DRUID study.
  • Assessment of associations with risk factors including diabetes, HbA1c, BMI, lipids, CRP, blood pressure, and lifestyle factors.
  • Multivariate regression and factor analysis to identify predictors and patterns of association.

Main Results:

  • Fibrinogen levels increased with age and were higher in individuals with diabetes compared to those without.
  • Significant associations were found with BMI, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, blood pressure, heart rate, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, HbA1c, CRP, urine ACR, and alcohol abstinence.
  • CRP and HbA1c were independent predictors, explaining 27% of fibrinogen variance; CRP alone explained 25%.

Conclusions:

  • Fibrinogen is associated with multiple cardiovascular risk factors in urban Indigenous Australians, indicating its potential as a CVD biomarker.
  • CRP and HbA1c are significant independent predictors of fibrinogen in this population.
  • Further research is needed to explore sex-specific differences in fibrinogen associations with cardiovascular risk markers.
Abstract

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