Blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP)--a blood protein released by the body in response to infection and injury--increase in heart disease but not cancer, according to a study of 643 women published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The authors found that higher levels of CRP were present in women who developed coronary heart disease than in those who developed cancer or didn't develop either condition during nearly five years of follow-up.

Research data published in Circulation suggest that physical fitness might have an anti-inflammatory effect that protects against heart attacks. Dr. Michael LaMonte and colleagues at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, found that women with low fitness status had significantly higher CRP levels than those in the moderate and high fitness categories. CRP was also elevated in women with the highest body mass index, an indirect measure that correlates with body fat in most people.

British researchers say that elevated C-reactive protein levels are associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Laboratory tests of plasma samples from 5,245 men showed that those with CRP greater than 4.18 mg/L had more than six times the risk of developing diabetes within five years compared to those with CRP levels 0.66 mg/L or lower. The findings are similar to those indicating a elevated risk for diabetes in women with higher CRP values.