Abstract
Obesity and loneliness are associated with C-reactive protein (CRP), a predictor of cardiovascular disease. It is unknown whether the co-presence of obesity and loneliness is associated with additional risk for clinically elevated CRP. The present study thus examines their independent and combined effects on elevated CRP in older adults. Data come from 10,912 respondents who completed the 2008 and 2010 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Loneliness was measured using an 11-item Loneliness Scale and body mass index was calculated from technician measured height and weight. Our primary outcome is high sensitivity CRP (hsCRP). Survey-weighted logistic regression models were used to test whether loneliness and BMI category are independent predictors of CRP after adjusting for demographics and other inflammatory-related covariates. In the fully adjusted model for men, obesity (OR = 2.36, p < .0001) was associated with increased odds of hsCRP >3.0. Among females, being overweight (OR = 1.75, p < .0001) or obese (OR = 4.01, p < .0001) were associated increased odds of hsCRP>3.0. Among both men and women, results from fully adjusted models indicated that loneliness was not associated with clinically elevated hsCRP (OR = 1.34, p = .0535; OR = 0.97, p = 0.6776, respectively).
Highlights
Obesity is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD) [1]
Loneliness was not associated with elevated high sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) (OR = 0.97, p = 0.6776), and there was no evidence of an interaction between obesity and loneliness
Obesity and loneliness have both been identified as predictors of elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), which in turn, is a risk factor for CVD and coronary heart disease
Summary
Obesity is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD) [1]. Numerous mechanisms have been hypothesized to mediate the relationship between obesity and CVD, and inflammatory markers are considered important pathogenic mechanisms in the initiation and progression of CVD [2]. C-reactive protein (CRP) has emerged as a powerful predictor of CVD and as a possible mechanism in the relationship between obesity and CVD [3, 4]. Loneliness—the distressing feeling that accompanies the perception that one’s social needs are not being met by the quantity or quality of one’s social relationships [5,6,7] is a key risk factor for CVD mortality [8], comparable to smoking and other well-established risk factors for mortality [9]. Loneliness (and similar social constructs including social isolation) is associated with elevated CRP [8]. While obesity and loneliness have been studied as separate risk factors for CRP, it is uncertain whether they operate as independent risk factors for clinically elevated CRP.
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