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Circulating TNF alpha levels in older men and women do not show independent prospective relations with MI or stroke

Jefferis, BJ; Whincup, PH; Welsh, P; Wannamethee, SG; Rumley, A; Lennon, LT; Thomson, AG; ... Lowe, GDO; + view all (2009) Circulating TNF alpha levels in older men and women do not show independent prospective relations with MI or stroke. Atherosclerosis , 205 (1) 302 - 308. 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2008.12.001. Green open access

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine implicated in atherosclerotic plaque formation. We investigated whether circulating TNFα is prospectively associated with myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke in the older general population, independently of established cardiovascular risk factors and other inflammatory markers related to CHD risk. METHODS: We measured baseline TNFα concentrations in stored serum samples of 362 incident MI and 299 incident stroke cases and controls (2 per case, frequency matched by age, gender and town) who were ‘nested’ in parallel prospective studies of 4252 men and 4286 women aged 60–79 years assessed in general practices in 24 British towns in 1998–2000 and followed up for an average 7 years for fatal and non-fatal MI and stroke. RESULTS: TNFα levels were 11.4% (95% CI 9.5, 13.3%) higher among MI cases than controls; geometric mean 1.84 pg/mL compared to 1.63 pg/mL, p (difference) < 0.001. Participants in the top third of baseline TNFα levels had an age-adjusted odds ratio (OR) for MI of 1.75 (95%CI 1.22, 2.49) compared with those in the bottom third, which was reduced to 1.47 (95%CI 1.01, 2.14) after adjustment for established cardiovascular risk factors. However, further adjustment for C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 abolished the association OR 1.33 (95% CI 0.91, 1.66) and the linear trend. Excluding subjects with pre-existing CVD did not materially affect results. No significant association between TNFα and stroke was observed. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that TNFα is not a strong independent risk marker for MI, and is not associated with risk of stroke.

Type: Article
Title: Circulating TNF alpha levels in older men and women do not show independent prospective relations with MI or stroke
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2008.12.001
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2008.12....
Language: English
Additional information: © 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Keywords: Myocardial Infarction, Stroke, Inflammation, Epidemiology, TNF Alpha, Prospective, Cohort, Necrosis-Factor-Alpha, Coronary-Heart-Disease, C-Reactive Protein, Risk-Factors, Cardiovascular Events, Myocardial-Infarction, Inflammatory Markers, Insulin-Resistance, Atherosclerosis, Interleukin-6
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Primary Care and Population Health
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/165997
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