Cross-sectional study of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and cardiovascular risk factors in apparently healthy men

An elevated plasma concentration of the soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) is associated with increased risk for future coronary events. However, data exploring the interrelations of sICAM-1 with known cardiovascular risk factors are sparse. We determined sICAM-1 levels in 948 middle-aged men with no prior history of cardiovascular disease. sICAM-1 levels increased with age (P<0.001) and were significantly associated with smoking (P<0.001), hypertension (P<0.05), and frequent alcohol consumption (P=0.006). Positive correlations were observed between sICAM-1 and triglycerides (r=0.15; P<0.001), fibrinogen (r=0.21; P<0.001), tissue-type plasminogen activator antigen (r=0.17; P<0.001), and total homocysteine (r=0.09; P=0.02); whereas a negative correlation was observed for high density lipoprotein cholesterol (r=-0.15; P<0.001). Overall, plasma concentrations of sICAM-1 increased with increasing prevalence of usual cardiovascular risk factors; mean plasma concentrations were 231, 236, 245, 257, and 312 ng/mL for those subjects with 0, 1, 2, 3, and >4 risk factors, respectively (P<0.01 for trend). In multivariate analysis, age, smoking status, diabetes, systolic blood pressure, positive family history of coronary disease, and serum levels of total homocysteine and fibrinogen were all independently associated with sICAM-1 levels tall P less than or equal to 0.05). sICAM-1 levels are associated with several established cardiovascular risk factors. Further studies will be needed to evaluate whether these associations reflect the role of sICAM-1 as a marker of preclinical atherosclerosis, and whether such interrelations might have a causal basis.