Aortic & peripheral vascular diseaseCohort study
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein mediates age-related vascular dysfunction: the Rotterdam study
- Cohort study with mediation analysis and two-sample Mendelian randomisation
- population-based (Rotterdam Study)
- sex-stratified
Authors' conclusion
Systemic inflammation indexed by hsCRP appears to mediate and potentially contribute causally to age-related vascular stiffness, particularly in men.
Study context
- Population
- Rotterdam Study participants with longitudinal carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) or cross-sectional pulse wave velocity (PWV) data7,591 cIMT
- Outcome
- Mediation by hsCRP of the effect of age on vascular dysfunction (cIMT, PWV)
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Proportion of age effect mediated by hsCRP
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) mediated age effect on cIMT (P = 0.001)
2.66%
hsCRP mediated age effect on PWV (P = 4.95 × 10-9)
2.56%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Mendelian randomization (MR): causal effect of hsCRP on vascular outcomes
- Genetic support for potential causal relationship between hsCRP and PWV, but not cIMT
Original publication
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein mediates age-related vascular dysfunction: the Rotterdam study. Eur J Prev Cardiol. Published 25 June 2025. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwaf370
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it