To date, few studies of both men and women have simultaneously examined common genetic variation in the CRP gene, haplotypes, plasma CRP levels, and risk of incident cardiovascular events. In the Rotterdam Study, the common haplotypes associated with higher CRP levels were not associated with risk of coronary heart disease.[22] Similarly, among men in the Physicians' Health Study, none of the common SNPs associated with higher CRP levels were associated with an increased risk of atherothrombotic events, whereas one SNP not associated with CRP was associated with a decreased risk of myocardial infarction.[23] Alternatively, in the Cardiovascular Health Study among elderly adults, haplotypes were significantly associated with CRP levels, and stroke and cardiovascular mortality, but not associated with myocardial infarction.[24] Because these studies included some, but not all of the same SNPs, estimated haplotypes are not directly comparable, and thus, summary conclusions cannot be made. Utilizing the existing sequencing data and available haplotype-tagging SNPs, we set out to comprehensively examine common variation in the CRP gene with plasma CRP levels and risk of incident coronary heart disease among two independent populations of middle-aged men and women.
