Chronic inflammation due to abdominal obesity plays a major role in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Gender differences are well characterized in the development of CVD; however, in the association among abdominal obesity, chronic inflammation, and preclinical atherosclerosis, gender differences in the general population remain to be clarified. We retrospectively analyzed 1,163 subjects who underwent voluntary health checkups at our institute. We defined carotid artery plaque formation as carotid intima-media thickness ≥ 1.1 mm. Multiple regression analysis showed that waist circumference was a major independent predictor of increase in serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level in both men and women. Serum CRP level was significantly increased in men with carotid artery plaque formation, but not in women. Multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that serum CRP level, as well as age and hypertension, was independently associated with carotid artery plaque formation only in men. This result may suggest a potential of gender-specific difference in the association between serum CRP level and the prevalence of carotid artery plaque formation. Further investigations are required to confirm our results and to clarify the underlying mechanism.

由腹部肥胖引起的慢性炎症在心血管疾病 (CVD) 的发展中起着重要作用。性别差异在 CVD 的发展中具有很好的特征；然而，在腹部肥胖、慢性炎症和临床前动脉粥样硬化之间的关联方面，一般人群的性别差异仍有待澄清。我们回顾性分析了在我们研究所接受自愿健康检查的 1,163 名受试者。我们将颈动脉斑块形成定义为颈动脉内中膜厚度≥ 1.1 mm。多元回归分析表明，腰围是男性和女性血清 C 反应蛋白 (CRP) 水平升高的主要独立预测因素。有颈动脉斑块形成的男性血清 CRP 水平显着升高，但女性则不然。多变量逻辑回归分析表明，血清 CRP 水平以及年龄和高血压仅与男性颈动脉斑块形成独立相关。这一结果可能表明血清 CRP 水平与颈动脉斑块形成的流行率之间的关联可能存在性别特异性差异。需要进一步的调查来确认我们的结果并阐明潜在的机制。