The association between economic development, lifestyle differentiation, and C-reactive protein concentration within rural communities in Hainan Island, China.

Objective Earlier fieldwork in rural areas of Hainan Island, China, demonstrated that during the course of economic development increasing differences had emerged in lifestyles within communities. It is possible that these variations might have stratified residents into subpopulations with different health attributes. This study examined the association between C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration, a biomarker of future cardiovascular events, and personal lifestyle parameters and the degree of community-level economic development among rural communities. Methods A cross-sectional field survey was undertaken in 19 rural communities in Hainan. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 1,744 participants. Dried blood spot samples were collected to measure high-sensitivity CRP concentration. Sex-stratified multilevel regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with CRP concentration among the participants. Results While CRP concentration was negatively associated with being married and (more) education among men, for women CRP concentration was associated with the frequency of poultry consumption ( P = 0.014) and the experience of migratory work in the previous year ( P = 0.009). In addition, for females, living in communities with a greater degree of inequality, as indexed by the Gini coefficient, was also associated with increased CRP concentration ( P = 0.003). Conclusion Given that CRP concentration is a marker of future CVD risk, this study suggests that within these previously homogenous rural communities, economic development might have stratified people into population subgroups with a different CVD risk. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 28:186-196, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]