Association of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and uric acid with the metabolic syndrome components

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been found to be associated with inflammatory molecules. This study was conducted among 125 MetS patients at B P Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal to find an association of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and serum uric acid with MetS components. Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, medical history and blood samples were taken. Estimation of hs-CRP, serum uric acid, blood glucose, triglyceride and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was done. hs-CRP had positive correlation with blood glucose (r = 0.2, p = 0.026) and negative with HDL cholesterol (r = -0.361, p < 0.001). Serum uric acid had positive correlation with waist circumference (r = 0.178, p = 0.047). Patients with elevated hs-CRP and uric acid had higher waist circumference (p = 0.03), diastolic BP (p = 0.002) and lower HDL cholesterol (p = 0.004) than others. Elevated hs-CRP and high uric acid were individually associated with higher odds for low HDL cholesterol (7.992; 1.785-35.774, p = 0.002) and hyperglycemia (2.471; 1.111-5.495, p = 0.029) respectively. Combined rise of hs-CRP and uric acid was associated with severity of MetS (p < 0.001) and higher odds for hyperglycemia (8.036; 2.178-29.647, p = 0.001) as compared to individual rise of hs-CRP or uric acid. The present study demonstrates that hs-CRP and serum uric acid are associated with MetS components, and the combined rise of hs-CRP and uric acid is associated with the increase in severity of MetS.