A Comparative Study of High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein and Metabolic Variables in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus with and without Nephropathy.

Introduction: Diabetic nephropathy is a serious chronic complication of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) which impairs the quality of life, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. The high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is an acute phase reactant which acts as a non-specific systemic marker of inflammation.

Aim: To find out the relationship between serum hs-CRP and metabolic variables in Type 2 diabetic patients with and without nephropathy.

Materials and Methods: The study group consists of 96 subjects that include non-diabetic healthy controls, Type 2 diabetic patients without any complications and patients with diabetic nephropathy. The study group was composed of both genders, aged 31-70 years, who reported after 10-12 hours overnight fasting; then, venous blood and fresh urine samples were collected, in the morning from all the study subjects. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Independent t-test was used to compare between the groups and Chi square test was used to find out the relationship between serum hs-CRP and metabolic variables.

Results: The results showed a significantly (p<0.05) increasing trend of serum hs-CRP with the degree of microalbumin excretion and the severity of nephropathy in Type 2 diabetic patients. The result showed a significant (p<0.05) relationship between hs-CRP and the metabolic variables like Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG), Post Prandial Blood Glucose (PPBG), Total Cholesterol (TC), Triglycerides (TG), LDL-Cholesterol (LDL-C), TC:HDL-Cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio and estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) and no significance (p>0.05) between hs-CRP and HDL-Cholesterol in both diabetic and diabetic nephropathy subjects.

Conclusion: Hs-CRP was strongly associated with the metabolic variables and predictors of cardiovascular risk in Type 2 diabetes mellitus with and without nephropathy. The hs-CRP might be considered as a predictor or illness indicator for the development of nephropathy and cardiovascular risk in Type 2 diabetic patients.