Elevated C reactive protein levels in obese individuals with metabolic syndromes

Background: C reactive protein (CRP) is a sensitive marker of inflammation. Apart from CRP, obesity is also one of the established risk factor for CVD in adults and children. This study was therefore conducted to assess the association between elevated levels of CRP and obesity.Methods: 1432 patients, >35 years of age who had come to our hospital for the assessment of risk factors for Cardiovascular disease were included into study. A detailed medical and clinical history was taken from all the patients and BMI was calculated based on the height and weight. Phlebotomy was performed on all patients and blood was collected to test the samples for CRP, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting blood glucose, uric acid.Results: The mean age for 1432 patients was 55.3 years. Males had a mean age of 57.2 years and females were 52.9 years. The levels of CRP were within the normal ranges till class I obese individuals. Among the class II and III patients there was an elevated level of CRP. Only about 4.5% of the patients with CRP levels more than 10 mg/l had normal BMI while 42.8% of the patients were under the class III obese BMI.Conclusions: It was shown in our studies that higher BMI is associated with higher CRP concentrations especially in patients with metabolic syndromes.