Association of C- Reactive Protein and Glycated Hemoglobin among Type 2 Diabetic Adults

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex metabolic disorder and is a major global health problem. An increasing amount of evidence suggests that chronic subclinical inflammation is one of the triggering factors in the onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Objective: The current study was designed to determine the association of C- reactive protein (CRP) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in T2DM patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out at Department of Laboratory Medicine, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh between March 2017 to February 2018. Total 80 adult patients of newly diagnosed T2DM were included in this study. A detailed clinical history was recorded and relevant physical examinations were done. The complete blood count (CBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), fasting blood glucose (FBG) and HbA1c were done accordingly. Data were analyzed and compared by statistical tests. Results: The mean age of the study patients was 45.06±11.08 years with female predominance. More than half (53.7%) of the study patients were in age group 41-59 years. Majority (65%) of the study patients was overweight/obese. It was observed that, mean(±SD) FBG, HbA1c and CRP levels were 8.97±2.41 mmol/L 8.54±2.08% and 8.98±4.85 mg/L respectively. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that CRP has a significant positive correlation with HbA1c (r= 0.457, p< 0.001). Conclusion: This study concluded that CRP has a significant positive association with HbA1c in adult T2DM patients. CRP can be used as a valuable and effective tool for monitoring T2DM.