C-reactive protein, obesity, and insulin resistance in postmenopausal women in urban slums of North India

Abstract

Summary Background and aims C-reactive protein (CRP) and its associations to obesity and insulin resistance have been poorly researched in women. The present investigation was undertaken to determine the prevalence of elevated CRP and its associations with obesity and insulin resistance in urban Asian Indian postmenopausal women belonging to a low socio-economic strata. Methods and results In this cross-sectional study, we assessed multiple measures of obesity and body composition, blood glucose, lipids, fasting insulin levels and CRP in postmenopausal women. Overweight, abdominal obesity, fasting hyperinsulinemia, impaired fasting glucose and diabetes were present in 23.7%, 28%, 24.6%, 24.3%, and 12.2% women, respectively. Strikingly, low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and high CRP levels were present in 90.1% and 44.7% women, respectively. CRP was found to correlate on with abdominal obesity ( p = 0.01) and percentage body fat ( p = 0.06). Particularly, no association of elevated CRP levels with insulin resistance and HDL-C levels were observed. Conclusion According to our data, postmenopausal Asian Indian women are at a high risk for development of cardiovascular disease. Unlike in western populations, however, important risk factors, e.g. insulin resistance, CRP and low HDL-C are not interrelated, and may contribute independently to cardiovascular risk.