Predicted pro-inflammatory high-sensitivity C-reactive protein score and inflammatory bowel disease: a...

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology and Immunology
• Biomarker Discovery
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Pathogenesis

Background:

• The precise role of pro-inflammatory factors in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) remains incompletely understood.
• Investigating potential associations between inflammatory markers and IBD is crucial for understanding disease etiology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between a predicted pro-inflammatory high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) score and the prevalence of IBD.
• To assess the predictive capability of the hs-CRP score for identifying individuals at risk of IBD, including specific subtypes like ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD).

Main Methods:

• A case/non-case study design involving 127 pairs matched for age and sex in Korea.
• Collection of comprehensive sociodemographic, lifestyle, and dietary data.
• Analysis using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression to determine odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for IBD prevalence across tertiles of the predicted hs-CRP score.

Main Results:

• A significantly higher predicted pro-inflammatory hs-CRP score was associated with increased IBD prevalence (p for trend = 0.006).
• The association was more pronounced for ulcerative colitis (UC) (OR = 5.78) compared to Crohn's disease (CD) (OR = 1.44) in the higher score category.
• The hs-CRP score demonstrated moderate predictive ability for UC (AUC = 0.72) and CD (AUC = 0.68).

Conclusions:

• Elevated predicted pro-inflammatory hs-CRP scores are significantly linked to a greater prevalence of IBD, particularly UC.
• The hs-CRP score shows potential as a valuable indicator for identifying individuals at risk of IBD.
• These findings offer insights into IBD etiology and suggest opportunities for targeted preventative strategies.