Relationship between fat mass and serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels in prevalent hemodialysis patients

Little is known about the relationship between fat mass distribution and chronic inflammation in dialysis patients, in whom chronic inflammation is related to morbidity and mortality.

The fat and lean masses (truncal and nontruncal) of 452 hemodialysis patients (age: 64 ± 11 years; hemodialysis duration: 89 ± 77 months; 37% diabetics) were measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry and their association with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) was examined.

The fat mass of the high hsCRP group (n = 106) was significantly higher than that of the normal hsCRP group (n = 346; p < 0.05); there were no significant differences in lean mass between the two groups. Truncal fat mass of the former group was significantly greater than that of the latter (p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference in nontruncal fat mass between the two groups. In multiple regression analysis, truncal fat mass (β = 0.227, p < 0.01) was significantly and independently associated with serum hsCRP levels after adjustment for age, gender and serum albumin (R(2) = 0.137, p < 0.01), whereas nontruncal fat mass was not.

Fat mass, particularly truncal fat mass, but not lean body mass, was significantly associated with serum hsCRP levels. The results suggest that truncal fat mass exhibits a distinct effect on chronic inflammation in hemodialysis patients.