Association between parental high-sensitive C-reactive protein and hypertension in offspring: an intergenerational...

Although the association between C-reactive protein (CRP) and hypertension has been acknowledged, the associations between parental high-sensitive CRP (hs-CRP) levels and offspring hypertension remain unexplored. To investigate the relationship between parental and offspring hs-CRP levels, as well as the association between parental hs-CRP levels and offspring hypertension.

We included 6,848 father-offspring and 1,588 mother-offspring pairs from the Kailuan study. Time-weighted average hs-CRP (TWA-CRP) was calculated by cumulative hs-CRP/Time_start-end. Hypertension were defined as systolic blood pressure (BP) ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg. The generalized estimating equation model was used to explored the relationship between parental TWA-CRP and offspring TWA-CRP, and the association between parental TWA-CRP and offspring hypertension. The Cox proportional hazard model was applied to examine the relationship between offspring TWA-CRP and hypertension risk.

The regression coefficient and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for offspring TWA-CRP were 0.50 (0.38-0.62) in father-offspring pairs and 0.53 (0.29-0.76) in mother-offspring pairs with high parental TWA-CRP. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs for offspring hypertension were 1.30 (1.11-1.52) in father-offspring pairs and 1.32 (0.95-1.84) in mother-offspring pairs with high parental TWA-CRP. When both parent and offspring had a high TWA-CRP, the ORs (95% CIs) for offspring hypertension were 1.92 (1.43-2.56) in father-offspring pairs and 2.44 (1.35-4.35) in mother-offspring pairs. The hazard ratios and 95% CIs for offspring hypertension were 1.43 (1.15-1.76) in father-offspring pairs and 2.48 (1.18-5.22) in mother-offspring pairs with high offspring TWA-CRP.

Parental high TWA-CRP may increase the risk of offspring hypertension.

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry Identifier: ChiCTR2000029767.