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

AbstractBackgroundTumour 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.MethodsWe 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.ResultsTNFα levels were 11.4% (95% CI 9.5, 13.3%) higher among MI cases than controls; geometric mean 1.84pg/mL compared to 1.63pg/mL, p (difference)