Endocrine Abstracts

The high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), mediator of atherosclerotic disease, is known to be a sensitive predictor of coronary heart disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Aims: To evaluate the relationship of hs-CRP levels to metabolic syndrome (MS) and albuminuria in T2DM.

Methods: Four hundred and eighty-eight T2DM subjects were recruited. Patients with hs-CRP ≥10 mg/l, creatinine ≥1.4 mg/dl, chronic inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases, smokers or on antiplatelet therapy were excluded. In all the 178 subjects (65.2±10.7 years, 71 men and 107 women) enrolled, we measured hs-CRP, waist circumference (WC), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-Ch), triglycerides (TGs), and 24 h. Albumin excretion (ALB-e). The MS was defined according to the IDF criteria. Student’s t-test was used to compare the means, and the Mann–Whitney U test to analyze the relationship between hs-CRP levels and the presence of MS. Spearman partial correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the correlations of log hs-CRP with all variables. A P value <0.05 was considered significant (SPSS).

Results: The hs-CRP level was higher in those subjects with WC >94 cm in men and >80 cm in women (P=0.000), TGs >150 mg/dl (P=0.01), HDL-Ch <40 mg/dl for men and <50 mg/dl for women (P=0.012), in subjects with MS (P=0.025), and with macroalbuminuria (P=0.045). After adjusting for age and sex, the log hs-CRP correlated significantly with WC (r=0.368), BMI (r=0.297), log TGs (r=0.382), FPG (r=0.172), HbA1c (r=0.162), and log ALB-e (r=0.233).

Conclusions: The serum hs-CRP level may be used to predict MS in T2DM patients. The correlation between hs-CRP level and albuminuria, suggests that the inflammatory process plays a role in nephropathy in T2DM.

Declaration of interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research project.

Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sector.