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Clinical Nutrition

Serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein as a biomarker in patients with metabolic syndrome: evidence-based study with 7284 subjects

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 70, pages 1298–1304 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension and glucose intolerance, and is associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes mellitus and related diseases. Circulating levels of inflammatory markers such as C-reactive-protein (CRP) have reported to be associated with CVD. Against this background, the prevalence of MetS is increasing globally, and thus predictive biomarkers are required for identification of MetS patients at an increased risk. Here we explored the value of CRP as a biomarker in 7284 subjects and also investigated which features of MetS have the greatest association with the hs-CRP level.

Subjects/Methods:

The subjects were recruited from the Mashhad stroke and heart atherosclerotic disorder study. Anthropometric factors and biochemical parameters (for example, high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP), high-density lipoprotein/low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides (TGs) and fasting blood glucose (FBG)) were determined. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to evaluate the association of hs-CRP and MetS.

Results:

Our results illustrated that the concentration of serum hs-CRP increased progressively with the number of MetS components, and subjects who fulfilled the criteria of MetS for waist circumference, TGs, blood pressure and FBG were found to have hs-CRP of 0.53, 0.38, 0.34 and 0.71 mg/l, respectively, higher than matched-subjects. Importantly, FBG had the greatest association with hs-CRP concentration.

Conclusions:

Our data demonstrate the significant association between MetS components with hs-CRP, indicating that this association was cumulative by increasing the number of the defining features of MetS, supporting further studies to explore the value of emerging marker as a novel method for detecting individuals at high risk of developing MetS.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by grant from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.

Author information

Author notes

  1. S R Mirhafez, M Ebrahimi, M Saberi Karimian, A Avan and M Tayefi: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur, Iran

    S R Mirhafez

  2. Cardiovascular Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    M Ebrahimi, A Heidari-Bakavoli, M Moohebati, M R Azarpazhooh & M Ghayour-Mobarhan

  3. Department of Modern Sciences and Technologies, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    M Ebrahimi, M Saberi Karimian, A Avan, M Tayefi & M Ghayour-Mobarhan

  4. Department of Modern Sciences and Technologies, Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    M Saberi Karimian

  5. Biochemistry of Nutrition Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    A Avan, M R Parizadeh, M R Azarpazhooh, M Nematy, M Safarian & M Ghayour-Mobarhan

  6. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Health Sciences Research Center, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    H Esmaily

  7. Division of Medical Education,

    G A Ferns

  8. Brighton & Sussex Medical School, Falmer, Brighton, UK

    G A Ferns

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  1. S R Mirhafez
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Correspondence to M Ghayour-Mobarhan.

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Mirhafez, S., Ebrahimi, M., Saberi Karimian, M. et al. Serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein as a biomarker in patients with metabolic syndrome: evidence-based study with 7284 subjects. Eur J Clin Nutr 70, 1298–1304 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.111

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