Relation of C-reactive protein and carotid intima media thickness in Taiwanese with familial hypercholesterolemia.

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential relationships between the carotid intima media thickness (carotid IMT), high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and cholesterol burden in heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) subjects. Thirty-two genetically-verified heterozygous patients with FH and 34 healthy controls were recruited into our study in Taiwan. We measured conventional risk factors, hsCRP, and carotid IMT of study subjects. The cholesterol-year score was used to estimate the lifetime cholesterol burden. Subjects with heterozygous FH had significantly elevated total cholesterol, elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and increased carotid IMT compared with control subjects. Carotid IMT correlated well with the cholesterol-year score. In patients with FH, univariate analysis showed that hsCRP was highly correlated with carotid IMT. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that hsCRP was the only independent predictor of carotid IMT in patients with FH. In conclusion, patients with heterozygous FH had significantly higher carotid IMT and the level of hsCRP was independently associated with atherosclerotic progression. (R: 0.639, R(2): 0.408, p <0.001).