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Inflammation and the Long-Term Incidence of Hypertension in Women

Nicholas H Adamstein1,2, M Vinayaga Moorthy2, Nancy R Cook2,3

  • 1Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart and Vascular Institute, Mass General Brigham, Boston, MA.

European Journal of Preventive Cardiology
|August 18, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Chronic inflammation, measured by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), independently predicts hypertension in women long-term. However, its predictive value diminishes after 20 years.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Health
  • Inflammation Research
  • Women's Health

Background:

  • Chronic inflammation is linked to hypertension development.
  • High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is a marker of low-grade inflammation.
  • Understanding inflammation's role in hypertension is crucial for women's cardiovascular health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the independent association between baseline hsCRP levels and incident hypertension over three decades in women.
  • To determine if hsCRP is a long-term predictor of hypertension in a female cohort.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the Normotensive Women's Health Study, following 20,224 women for up to 30.9 years.
  • Employed cause-specific Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for numerous covariates.
  • Conducted landmark analyses to assess hsCRP's predictive value over different time intervals (decades).

Main Results:

  • Over 70% of women developed hypertension during follow-up.
  • Higher baseline hsCRP levels were significantly associated with increased risk of incident hypertension (HR 1.33 comparing extreme quintiles).
  • The association between hsCRP and hypertension was significant for the first two decades but waned thereafter.

Conclusions:

  • A single hsCRP measurement independently predicts incident hypertension in women in the near to intermediate term.
  • Inflammation may represent a primordial risk factor for hypertension in women.
  • The prognostic value of hsCRP for hypertension is limited beyond 20 years of follow-up.
Abstract

Keywords:
High-sensitivity C-reactive proteinHypertensionInflammationLong-termWomen

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