C-reactive protein (CRP) blood test – levels, high, low and normal (2024)

FAQs

C-reactive protein (CRP) blood test – levels, high, low and normal? ›

A number of things may cause your CRP levels to be slightly higher than normal. These include obesity, lack of exercise, cigarette smoking, and diabetes. Certain medicines can cause your CRP levels to be lower than normal.

A number of things may cause your CRP levels to be slightly higher than normal. These include obesity, lack of exercise, cigarette smoking, and diabetes. Certain medicines can cause your CRP levels to be lower than normal.

Results equal to or greater than 8 mg/L or 10 mg/L are considered high. Range values vary depending on the lab doing the test. A high test result is a sign of inflammation. It may be due to serious infection, injury or chronic disease.

Lifestyle: People who smoke, have obesity, or do little exercise may have higher-than-normal CRP levels. Minor injuries or infection: These conditions may temporarily raise CRP levels and conceal other potential conditions, such as diabetes or IBD.

Normally, you have low levels of c-reactive protein in your blood. Your liver releases more CRP into your bloodstream if you have inflammation in your body. High levels of CRP may mean you have a serious health condition that causes inflammation.

This is particularly concerning as high CRP levels, potentially exacerbated by factors like dehydration and certain dietary habits, can indicate a dangerous level of inflammation in the body.

As recently summarized by Hart et al. (6), cancer patients are known to have elevated levels of blood CRP. Furthermore, patients with malignant disease have much higher levels of CRP than patients with benign disease, and the higher the CRP level (e.g., > 50-100 µg/ml), the worse the prognosis.

For high sensitivity assays of CRP or “hsCRP,” we say that less than 1 mg/L is low risk, 1 to 3 mg/L is moderate risk, and greater than 3 mg/L is high risk—that's simple enough.

CRP—C-reactive protein. Of the inflammatory conditions (n = 45), most were due to pericarditis (20 cases, CRP range 114.0 to 277.0 mg/L) or inflammatory bowel disease (21 cases, CRP range 100.6 to 203.2 mg/L). A few cases were due to pancreatitis (CRP range 124.0 to 296.0 mg/L).

What autoimmune disease causes high CRP? ›

That reaction causes inflammation, so high CRP levels tick one box for an autoimmune diagnosis. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. “The CRP will go up pretty much from any inflammation, which can be from infection or an inflammatory condition like rheumatoid arthritis, or even atherosclerosis,” says Dr. Kaplan.

After adjusting for confounders, logistic regression analyses showed that anxiety symptoms alone increased the probability for elevated hs-CRP levels (> 3.0 mg/L) in males over two-fold (2.19 CI 95% 1.08–4.46), while comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms caused a 1.7-fold (1.76 CI 95% 1.13–2.74) increase in the ...

Limiting or avoiding inflammatory foods like refined carbohydrates, fried foods, red meat and processed meat can help reduce CRP. Instead, focus on eating more anti-inflammatory foods like leafy greens, nuts, fatty fish and whole grains.

You are at low risk of developing cardiovascular disease if your hs-CRP level is lower than 1.0 mg/L. You are at average risk of developing cardiovascular disease if your levels are between 1.0 mg/L and 3.0 mg/L. You are at high risk for cardiovascular disease if your hs-CRP level is higher than 3.0 mg/L.

Interpretation of CRP levels:

Less than 0.3 mg/dL: Normal (level seen in most healthy adults). 0.3 to 1.0 mg/dL: Normal or minor elevation (can be seen in obesity, pregnancy, depression, diabetes, common cold, gingivitis, periodontitis, sedentary lifestyle, cigarette smoking, and genetic polymorphisms).

Cyclooxygenase inhibitors (aspirin, rofecoxib, celecoxib), platelet aggregation inhibitors (clopidogrel, abciximab), lipid lowering agents (statins, ezetimibe, fenofibrate, niacin, diets), beta-adrenoreceptor antagonists and antioxidants (vitamin E), as well as angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (ramipril, ...

Certain medications, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), will falsely decrease CRP levels. Statins, as well, have been known to reduce CRP levels falsely. Recent injury or illness can falsely elevate levels, particularly when using this test for cardiac risk stratification.

The result can be pain, swelling, bruising or redness. But inflammation also affects body systems you can't see, such as your joints. You normally have low levels of CRP in your blood. Moderately to severely elevated levels may be a sign of a serious infection or other inflammatory condition.

A high CRP is more than 10mg/L. This shows that there is inflammation somewhere in your body. Other tests might be necessary to find out where or which specific illness or infection is causing the inflammation. If you are being treated for an infection or inflammation, your CRP levels should decrease.