Association between Life's Essential 8 score and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein: A cross-sectional study from NHANES 2015−2018

Abstract

Background: Earlier studies showed a negative correlation between life's simple 7 (LS7) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), but no association has been found between life's essential 8 (LE8), an improved version of LS7, and hs-CRP. Hypothesis: This study investigated the association between LE8 and hs-CRP utilizing data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey. Methods: A total of 7229 adults were incorporated in our study. LE8 was scored according to American Heart Association guidelines, and LE8 was divided into health behaviors and health factors. Serum samples of the participants were used to measure hs-CRP. To investigate the association between LE8 and hs-CRP, weighted linear regression, and restricted cubic spline were utilized. Results: Among 7229 participants, the average age was 48.03 ± 16.88 years, 3689 (51.2%) were females and the median hs-CRP was 1.92 (0.81−4.49) mg/L. In adjusted weighted linear regression, a negative correlation was observed between the LE8 score and hs-CRP. Compared with the low LE8 score, the moderate LE8 score β was −0.533 (−0.646 to −0.420), and the high LE8 score β was −1.237 (−1.376 to −1.097). Health behaviors and health factors were also negatively associated with hs-CRP. In stratified analyses, the negative correlation between LE8 and hs-CRP remained consistent across subgroups. Conclusion: There was a negative correlation between LE8 as well as its sub-indicator scores and hs-CRP. Maintaining a positive LE8 score may be conducive to lowering the level of hs-CRP.