CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE: THE IMPACT OF C-REACTIVE PROTEIN AND URIC ACID

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) gradually leads to end-stage kidney. In Pakistan, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and hypertension are the main causes of developing kidney disease. Objective: To identify risk biomarkers for cardiovascular disease in patients with CKD by investigating variations in serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and uric acid. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in Shahida Islam Medical College, Lodhran, to assess serum hs-CRP and Uric Acid levels among CKD patients from January 2024 to August 2024. The study was conducted among the confirmed cases of chronic kidney disease and healthy controls for whom the investigations were done in the Central lab of the Pathology department. A total of 200 individuals between the age group 18-60 years, both males and females, were included on the basis of a non-probability convenience sampling technique in the present study. Results: The study population consisted of 100 patients with CKD (63 males, 37 females) and 100 healthy controls (60 males, 40 females). The mean age of the CKD patients was 53.27 ± 9.11 years, compared to 54.20 ± 10.53 years for the controls. Notably, serum creatinine, hs-CRP, and uric acid levels were significantly elevated in CKD patients relative to controls (p < 0.0001 for all comparisons). Conclusions: Our study highlights that there should be a regular estimation of these two biomarkers (uric acid and hs-CRP) in patients with CKD, to decrease the risk of aggravating the existing CKD and avoid developing CVD.