Fibrinogen is considered to be a strong predictor and independent factor of cardiovascular diseases. The data presented here describe the baseline measurements of fibrinogen in 1008 apparently healthy subjects, aged 4-60 years and their relationship to age, sex, body weight, smoking, alcohol, and use of oral contraceptives. Pearson's correlations and a linear multiple regression model were used. Plasma fibrinogen was measured kinetically in a photometer, the Behring Chromotimer, using the CTS-fibrinogen method. There were neither statistical difference between girls and boys aged 4-20 years nor correlation with variables related to cardiovascular diseases. In adults, we found an increase of plasma fibrinogen concentration with age and no statistical difference between men and women, except in subjects aged 40-50 years. There was a positive correlation between fibrinogen and ponderal index. In women aged 20-30, 30-40, 40-50 and 50-60 years, the mean fibrinogen concentrations increased of 0.009, 0.021, 0.010 and 0.015 g/l for one percent of overweight, in each subgroup respectively. In women aged 20-30 years using oral contraceptives, the mean fibrinogen concentration was 0.19 g/l higher than in women not using oral contraceptives. The smoking effect was observed only in 30-40 year-old men. Each cigarette smoked per day increases of the mean fibrinogen by 0.35 g/l after standardization for ponderal index and alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption was negatively correlated to plasma fibrinogen in subjects 30-40 years old. In women, 1 g of alcohol per day induces a 0.008 g/l decrease in the mean fibrinogen while in men the decrease is 0.004 g/l.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
PIP: 1008 healthy subjects (510 men and 498 women) aged 4-60 years were studied. 109 women, aged 20-30 years and 40-50 years, were taking oral contraceptives. Plasma fibrinogen was measured kinetically in a photometer, the Behring Chromotimer. Day-to-day controls were tested using CTS-control plasma (Behring). The Student's t-test showed that there was no statistical difference between the sexes except in subjects aged 40-50 years (mean +or- standard deviation [SD] for men = 2.99 +or- 0.59 gm/l [n = 125] vs. 2.81 +or- 0.50 gm/l for women [n = 90], p = 0.017). Fibrinogen was higher in children and adolescents than in adults aged 20-30 years. There were statistically significant differences between children aged 4-14 years and adults aged 20-30 years. 54 boys had a mean +or- SD = 3.07 +or- 0.57 gm/l compared with 109 men with 2.65 +or- 0.52 gm/l (p 0.001). From age 30, plasma fibrinogen increased steadily in both women and men. In adults, a significant effect of smoking appeared only in men aged 30-40 years. Each cigarette smoked per day increased the mean fibrinogen by 0.35 gm/l. In men aged 20-50 years the fibrinogen varied from 2.785 gm/l +or- 0.564 (mean +or- SD) in nonsmokers (n = 163) to 2.974 +or- 0.615 (mean +or- SD) in men (n = 119) smoking more than 10 cigarettes/day. Alcohol consumption was negatively correlated to plasma fibrinogen in subjects aged 30-40. In women 1 gm of alcohol/day induced a 0.008 gm/l decrease of mean fibrinogen. In men the decrease was 0.004 gm/l of alcohol/day. Regression analysis showed that the fibrinogen concentration increased by 0.1, 0.21, 0.1, and 0.15 gm/l/10% overweight for women aged 20-30, 30-40, 40-50, and 50-60 years, respectively. In women aged 20-30 taking oral contraceptives the mean fibrinogen concentration was significantly (0.19 gm/l) higher, weight for weight, than in the women not taking them.