Inflammatory And Hemostatic Biomarkers And Coronary Artery Calcification In Women Undergoing The Menopausal Transition

Aims: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a significant public health issue in the United States. The relationships of inflammatory and hemostatic biomarkers to subclinical CHD in women are uncertain. The aims of this study were to test the associations of baseline levels of four novel biomarkers with baseline coronary artery calcification (CAC) and CAC progression; and to evaluate if changes in these biomarkers were associated with CAC progression.\ud Methods: Subjects were obtained from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation Heart Study. C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, plasminogen-activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1), and tissue plasminogen activator antigen (tPA-ag) were log-transformed. Logistic regression was used for the categorical outcomes (presence of baseline CAC and CAC progression), and tobit and linear regression were used for the continuous outcomes (extent of baseline CAC and CAC progression, respectively). Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed.\ud Results: A total of 372 women with a mean age of 51.3 years (SD, 2.8) were included for the baseline CAC analyses of which 131 (35.2%) were black. In the univariable analyses, all novel biomarkers were positively associated with baseline CAC presence and extent (p