Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disorder witht increasing prevalence is increasing worldwide. C-Reactive Protein (CRP) is a marker of systemic inflammation and an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to elucidate the correlation between glycemic control and systemic inflammation by measuring serum CRP levels.

Methods: In this cross sectional study 136 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (69 females, 67 males) were recruited. In addition to measurement of CRP levels by highly sensitive methods and measurement of hemoglobin A₁C effects of influencing factors on the CRP level was considered. Fasting plasma glucose was determined via the glucose oxidase method, HbA_1C via HPLC, serum lipid profile enzymatically and hs-CRP with sandwich immunoassay method.

Results: The mean concentrations of CRP levels in these patients (5.2 ± 4.8 mg/L) were higher than normal range and in women greater than men (6.4 ± 5.5 vs. 3.9 ± 3.6 mg/L). Before adjusting for influencing factors the association between hs-CRP levels and hemoglobin A_1C was negative but not statistically significant (r= -0.15, P=0.07). After adjusting, the association was negative and significant. (r= -0.22, P= 0.02). In this study the relation between hs-CRP and lipid profile was also determined.  There was no significant relationship between the levels of hs-CRP and total cholesterol, LDL-C and HDL-C. A positive correlation between hs-CRP with serum triglyceride and triglyceride / HDL ratio was observed. However, the correlation was not significant.

Conclusion: These results demonstrate that hs-CRP levels is influenced with multiple factors, and increased hs-CRP levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus can not be explained with hyperglycemia alone.