Association between inflammatory markers at mean age 40 years (year 15 examination) and computed tomography (CT) features at mean age 50 years (year 25 examination)
| Quartile of inflammatory marker at mean age 40 years | Associated percent increase (95% CI) in lung characterised as each CT feature per 10% increase in inflammatory marker# | ||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
| Quartile of CRP at mean age 40 | |||||
| CRP, μg·mL−1 | 0.33±0.13 | 0.92±0.23 | 2.27±0.66 | 9.04±7.18 | |
| CT lung injury¶,+,§, %, median (IQR) | 0.56 (0.10–2.90) | 1.12 (0.17–6.52) | 1.41 (0.24–7.84) | 2.52 (0.44–15.76) | 1.07 (0.34–1.80) |
| Interstitial features¶,§,ƒ | 0.44 (0.16–1.26) | 0.72 (0.23–2.35) | 0.92 (0.29–2.94) | 1.28 (0.42–3.89) | 0.87 (0.28–1.46) |
| Quartile of ICAM-1 at mean age 40 | |||||
| ICAM-1, ng·L−1 | 111.6±10.7 | 135.7±5.6 | 157.5±7.3 | 208.5±46.1 | |
| CT lung injury¶,+,##, % | 0.56 (0.09–3.30) | 0.91 (0.16–5.03) | 1.35 (0.21–8.48) | 2.27 (0.37–14.03) | 6.28 (2.34–10.4) |
| Interstitial features¶,ƒ,##, % | 0.53 (0.16–1.61) | 0.62 (0.22–2.28) | 0.80 (0.26–2.73) | 1.20 (0.35–3.85) | 5.00 (1.85–8.24) |
Data are presented as mean±sd or median (interquartile range). Models adjusted for year 0 field centre, age, race, sex, year 15 years of education, smoking status, cigarettes smoked per day, body mass index (BMI), year 25–year15 BMI change, and year 25 smoking pack-years. CRP: C-reactive protein; ICAM: intercellular adhesion molecule. #: based on multivariable linear regression, after log-transformation of inflammatory marker and log-transformation of CT feature; ¶: unadjusted; +: defined as visually normal-appearing regions with attenuation >95th percentile for normal lung tissue; §: n=2570; ƒ: defined as reticular or ground-glass abnormalities; ##: n=2200.