Biomarkers and/or risk assessments identify patients having an increased risk of certain clinical disease states including, for example, CHD, type 2 diabetes, dementia, or all-cause death (ACD) using NMR signal to measure a level of “GlycA” in arbitrary units or in defined units (e.g., μmol/L) that can be determined using a defined single peak region of proton NMR spectra. The GlycA measurement can be used as an inflammation biomarker for clinical disease states. The NMR signal for GlycA can include a fitting region of signal between about 2.080 ppm and 1.845 ppm of the proton NMR spectra.