The risk of metabolic syndrome according to the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in apparently healthy Koreans

Background Recently, considerable interest has been focused on the positive relationship between inflammation and the metabolic syndrome (MS). Therefore, we investigated whether the baseline plasma levels of the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein could be associated with future risk for MS in apparently healthy Koreans. Methods A total of 1132 subjects (767 men, 365 women with a mean age of 49 years), who underwent health examination at this hospital in both 2002 and 2005 were enrolled. The criteria for metabolic syndrome followed that of NCEP-ATP III guideline except waist circumference. Instead, BMI (≥ 25 kg/m2) was used for the measurement for obesity. Results and conclusions The relative risks of future MS in the highest quartile of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein at baseline were 2.4 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3–4.2) as compared to the subjects in the lowest quartile. Positive associations persisted after adjustment for age, sex and smoking; multivariate relative risks for the highest vs lowest quartiles were 2.3 (95% CI, 1.3–4.1; P for trend = 0.005). This retrospective study suggests that elevated levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein could be associated with incident MS.