ArticlePloS one2013
Low C-reactive protein levels in a traditional West-African population living in a malaria endemic area.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- C-reactive protein as an early biomarker for malaria infection and monitoring of malaria severity: a meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2021Pooled it
- Interindividual Variation in Chronic Inflammation in Northern Lao People's Democratic Republic.American journal of biological anthropology · 2026Article
- Baseline Procalcitonin and C-Reactive Protein Levels in Asymptomatic Individuals From West Africa With and WithoutOpen forum infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Minimal Evidence of Inflammaging in Naturalistic Chimpanzee Populations.American journal of biological anthropology · 2026Article
- Dampened inflammation and reduced risk of osteoarthritis among non-industrialized societies.Osteoarthritis and cartilage · 2026Review
- Association between Paleolithic diet fraction and systemic low-grade chronic inflammation in the Malmö diet and cancer study cohort.European journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Comparison of age-related inflammation and oxidative stress in two lemur species.Journal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology · 2025Article
- Chronic Stress and Severe Water Insecurity During the Historic 2022 Drought in Northern Kenya Were Associated With Inflammation Among Daasanach Seminomadic Pastoralists.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2025Article
- Saturated fat in an evolutionary context.Lipids in health and disease · 2025Review
- Inflammation and depression: an evolutionary framework for the role of physical activity and exercise.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Review
- Three common assumptions about inflammation, aging, and health that are probably wrong.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- C-reactive protein and procalcitonin use in adults in low- and middle-income countries: a narrative review.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2023Review
- C-reactive protein in traditional melanesians on Kitava.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2020Article
- The high risk for type 2 diabetes among ethnic minority populations is not explained by low-grade inflammation.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Chronic inflammation in the etiology of disease across the life span.Nature medicine · 2019Review
- EarlyEvolutionary applications · 2019Article
- High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein: A Potential Ancillary Biomarker for Malaria Diagnosis and Morbidity.Disease markers · 2019Article
- Article
- Profile of C-reactive protein, white cells and neutrophil populations in febrile children from rural north-eastern Tanzania.The Pan African medical journal · 2017Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundC-reactive protein (CRP) levels are reported to be elevated in populations of African descent living in affluent environments compared to populations of European ancestry. However, the natural history of CRP levels in populations of African descent living under adverse environments remains largely unknown.
methodsCRP levels were measured with a high sensitivity assay in 624 apparently healthy individuals who contributed blood as part of a study on innate immune responsiveness in a traditional Ghanaian population living under adverse environmental conditions in a malaria endemic area. As a comparison, we included CRP measurements from 2931 apparently healthy individuals from the Dutch population that were included in the same batch of CRP analyses. Associations between CRP and body mass index (BMI), immune responsiveness, and P. falciparum parasitaemia were investigated.
resultsIn an age- and sex-adjusted model, CRP levels were 0.54 mg/L lower in the Ghanaian compared to the Dutch cohort (1.52 vs. 0.98 mg/L, p<0.001). When accounting for the substantially higher average BMI in the Dutch compared to the Ghanaians (25.6 vs. 18.4 kg/m(2)) the difference in CRP levels disappeared. BMI associated positively with CRP in the Dutch but not in the Ghanaians. In individuals with an acute phase response, CRP levels were higher in the Ghanaian compared to the Dutch cohort (24.6 vs. 17.3 mg/L, p = 0.04). Levels of CRP were positively related to immune responsiveness and P. falciparum parasitaemia (all p<0.001) among Ghanaians.
conclusionsOur study demonstrates that West-Africans do not exhibit an inherently high inflammatory state. The role of genes, environment and gene-environment interaction in explaining reports of elevated CRP levels in populations of African ancestry when compared to other ethnicities living in affluent environments thus merits further investigation.
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