Premium
Serum homocysteine is weakly associated with von Willebrand factor and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, but not with C‐reactive protein in type 2 diabetic and non‐diabetic subjects — The Hoorn Study
Author(s) -
Annemarie Becker,
Victor W.M. van Hinsbergh,
Piet J. Kostense,
Agnes Jager,
Joost Dekker,
Giel Nijpels,
Robert J. Heine,
Lex M. Bouter,
Coen D.A. Stehouwer
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
european journal of clinical investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.164
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1365-2362
pISSN - 0014-2972
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2362.2000.00706.x
Subject(s) - von willebrand factor , homocysteine , medicine , endothelial dysfunction , diabetes mellitus , type 2 diabetes , c reactive protein , endocrinology , confounding , population , diabetic angiopathy , inflammation , platelet , environmental health
Background Hyperhomocysteinaemia may constitute an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but it is still unclear by which pathophysiological mechanisms homocysteine (tHcy) may promote atherothrombosis. The aim of this study was firstly to examine whether tHcy is associated with endothelial dysfunction, increased adherence of leukocytes, and/or chronic low‐grade inflammation, as estimated from plasma levels of von Willebrand factor (vWf), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM‐1) and C‐reactive protein (CRP), respectively. Secondly we investigated whether the presence of type 2 diabetes modifies these associations. Materials and Methods Six hundred and ten subjects of a general population of middle‐aged and elderly subjects, 170 of whom had type 2 diabetes, participated in this cross‐sectional study. Linear regression analyses were used to study whether tHcy was associated with vWf, sVCAM‐1 and CRP, and whether the presence of diabetes modified these associations. Results After adjustment for confounders, tHcy was significantly but weakly associated with vWf (β = 0.15, P = 0.05) and sVCAM‐1 (β = 0.082, P = 0.04). tHcy was not significantly associated with CRP (β = 0.02, P = 0.91). The presence of diabetes did not significantly modify these associations. Conclusions This study provides evidence that tHcy is, at most, weakly associated with endothelial dysfunction as estimated from plasma vWf, and with leukocyte adhesion as estimated from plasma sVCAM‐1. tHcy was not significantly associated with chronic low‐grade inflammation as estimated from plasma CRP. Our data thus suggest that the link between tHcy and atherothrombosis cannot be explained by associations of tHcy with vWf, sVCAM‐1 or CRP.