Co-Relation of Level of Stress in Different Age Groups with the Levels of HS- CRP, A Sensitive Predictor of Coronary Vascular Events

ABSTRACT In modern competitive world where stress is unavoidable and with an increasing evidence of stress as a major risk factor for various diseases per se, there is a strong need for life style modification and stress management. The present study was undertaken to co-relate the stress level with the levels of c-reactive protein in different age groups. The study was conducted on healthy, normotensive, non-diabetic, voluntary blood donors, males, in the age group of 20-50 years. The sample size was restricted to 60. The risk of illness due to stress was assessed by providing a simple questionnaire-Holmes and Rahe stress scale to the voluntary blood donors and the serum sample was taken for estimation of C-reactive protein, using hsCRP measuring kit. The level of stress and the levels of hsCRP were tabulated and the significance was assessed using appropriate statistical methods. C-reactive protein showed significant positive co-relation with increase in stress levels (p value 0.0001). Also, more importantly there was a significant raise in the CRP levels in the age group of 30-40yrs which indicates that this particular age group is vulnerable for development of coronary vascular diseases