Distribution and Cardiovascular Risk Correlates of Plasma Soluble Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 Levels in Asymptomatic Young Adults from a Biracial Community: The Bogalusa Heart Study
Received 2 February 2009; accepted 3 October 2009.
Purpose
That circulating soluble form of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) is associated with an increased risk for coronary artery disease is well recognized. However, information is scant regarding the distribution and cardiovascular (CV) risk correlates of sICAM-1 in asymptomatic young adults.
Methods
Plasma sICAM-1 was measured in 1,184 black and white persons in the Bogalusa Heart Study cohort (70% white, 43% male), aged 24 to 44 years. CV risk was assessed in terms of CV risk factors, status of parental CV disease, and composite carotid intima-media thickness (IMT).
Results
sICAM-1 levels displayed race difference (whites > blacks, p<0.0001), but no sex difference. In multivariate analysis including age, race, sex, smoking status, waist circumference, mean arterial pressure, low- and high-density lipoprotein (LDL and HDL) cholesterols, triglycerides, insulin resistance index, C-reactive protein (CRP), and adiponectin, the significant predictors of sICAM-1, in order of entry, were race (white > black), smoking, CRP, and waist circumference. Furthermore, there was a smoking by waist circumference interaction in that smoking attenuated the magnitude of correlation between waist circumference and sICAM-1. Levels of sICAM-1 adjusted for age, race, sex, and smoking increased with number of metabolic syndrome components (p for trend<0.01); positive family history of CV disease (p<0.05); and increased in composite carotid IMT specific for age, race, and sex (p for trend<0.05).
Conclusion
These findings underscore the potential value of plasma sICAM-1 as an additional biomarker for CV risk among asymptomatic young adults.
Tulane Center for Cardiovascular Health, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Gerald S. Berenson, MD, Tulane Center for Cardiovascular Health, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, 1440 Canal St., Suite 1829, New Orleans, LA 70112. Tel: (504) 988-7179. Fax: (504) 988-7194.