The Medical Journal of Basrah University

Abstract

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is clustered risk factors that arise from insulin resistance and is associated
with risk of coronary heart disease, as well as diabetes. American Heart Association (AHA) defined MetSon the basis
of 5 components: fasting blood glucose, blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL-C, and waist circumference. Highsensitivity
CRP (hs-CRP) is a measure of systemic inflammatory conditions and is considered as a risk factor in
diabetes mellitus.
Aim: To investigate the correlation of hs-CRP with the number and type of components of MetS diagnostic criteria in
Iraqi patients and to find out the cutoff point for hs-CRP level that might predict the development of metabolic
syndrome.
Methods: This study involved 78 diabetic patients consulting the outpatient clinic at Al Sadr Teaching Hospital. For
all patients anthropometric measures were obtained and fasting blood samples were taken for determination of blood
glucose, lipid profile and hs-CRP level.
Results: Mets was diagnosed in 48 patients. The level of hs-CRP was found to be significantly increased with
increasing number of components of MetS. The lowest value of (0.07 mg/dl) was found in people with absent
components of metabolic syndrome and the highest level of (4.05 mg/dl) in subjects with 4 components. A significant
positive correlation was observed between hs-CRP and waist circumference, FBG, and triglycerides(r=0.514, 0.531,
0.592 respectively, P<001) and a negative correlation with HDL-cholesterol (r=-0.332, p=0.021). Using the level of
0.65 mg/dl, hs-CRP can predict the development of metabolic syndrome with sensitivity and specificity of 81.3% and
93.3% respectively.
Conclusion: Hs-CRP shows a significant correlation with the number of MetS components and its level correlates
well with waist circumference and other biochemical features of MetS. Hs-CRP can predict the development of MetS
with high sensitivity and specificity.