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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #166598
Title: CLINICAL AND NUTRITIONAL CORRELATES OF C-REACTIVE PROTEIN IN TYPE 2 DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY

Author
item FRIEDMAN, ALLON - INDIANA UNIVERSITY
item HUNSICKER, LAWRENCE - UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
item SELHUB, JACOB - TUFTS-HNRCA
item BOSTOM, ANDREW - RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL
item THE COLLABORATIVE, STUDY GROUP - THE COLLAB STDY GRP

Submitted to: Atherosclerosis
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/11/2003
Publication Date: 1/1/2004
Citation: Friedman, A.N., Hunsicker, L.G., Selhub, J., Bostom, A.G., The Collaborative, S. 2004. Clinical and nutritional correlates of c-reactive protein in type 2 diabetic nephropathy. Atherosclerosis. 172(1):121-5.

Interpretive Summary: C-reactive protein (CRP), is a protein that appears in the blood during inflammation and more importantly in cases of cardiovascular disease. A high CRP blood level is considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In this study we analyzed blood samples from patients with diabetes to determine if there were other correlations with elevated CRP levels. We found that there is a strong inverse correlation between CRP and vitamin B6 levels in blood. Low blood levels of vitamin B6 appears also to be related to inflammation.

Technical Abstract: Patients with diabetic nephropathy are at elevated cardiovascular risk. C-reactive protein (CRP) has been used to successfully predict cardiovascular events. We identified clinical and biochemical characteristics that correlate with CRP levels in diabetic nephropathy patients. Baseline data obtained from 722 patients in the Irbesartan Diabetic Nephropathy Trial included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (BP), serum creatinine, plasma low- and high-density cholesterol, triacylglycerol, serum albumin, hemoglobin A1C, 24 h urinary protein excretion, plasma total homocysteine (tHcy), folate, B12, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP, active form of Vitamin B6), and plasma CRP levels. In univariate analyses CRP was positively associated with female sex (r=0.08; P=0.04), BMI (r=0.34; P<0.01), serum creatinine (r=0.21; P<0.01), hemoglobin A1C (r=0.08; 0.04), and inversely associated with PLP (r='0.17; P<0.01) and folate (r='0.09; P=0.02). A stepwise multiple regression model found CRP directly correlated with BMI (P<0.01) and serum creatinine (P<0.01), and inversely correlated with PLP (P<0.01). The final model explained 16% of the total variance of CRP. These results extend previous findings of an inverse relationship between Vitamin B6 and CRP. The lack of association between CRP and certain established or emerging cardiovascular risk factors offers novel information regarding cardiovascular risk in this population.