C-Reactive Protein and Metabolic Syndrome in Elderly Women

Abstract

Aging is associated with increased inflammatory activity (1,2). Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) is a sensitive marker of systemic low-grade inflammation and is an important predictor of type 2 diabetes (3,4) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) (5). Cross-sectional studies have found associations of CRP with metabolic syndrome (6–9) and its components, including obesity (10), insulin resistance (6,7,10), dyslipidemia (10), elevated blood pressure (11), and endothelial dysfunction (10). Prospective studies (3,4) in middle-aged individuals have observed that increased serum CRP levels predict the development of metabolic syndrome. No such data are available in the elderly. We tested the hypothesis that changes in serum CRP levels predict the development of metabolic syndrome in a population-based sample of elderly women followed-up for 12 years. The subjects were examined as a part of the large population-based risk factor survey in 1982 (12). The women, aged 60–70 years, were invited for the baseline examinations of the present study in 1991–1992. None of them had diabetes. In 2003, all eligible women were invited for the 12-year follow-up study, and 113 of them participated. After excluding …