CRP and atherosclerosis: This importance of NWO subjects having soft coronary plaque was persistently significant, even with the addition of other factors known to influence the development of atherosclerosis, such as systolic BP, fasting glucose, HDL, CRP levels, hypertension medication, diabetes medication, lipid-lowering agents, antiplatelet agents, the smoking status, and physical activity (adjusted OR 1.460, 95 % CI 1.027–2.074, p = 0.035) (Table 4).