Predictors of serum levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein and systolic blood pressure in overweight and obese nondiabetic women in Tehran: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: Extra fat mass is usually accompanied by metabolic as well as clinical derangements, including systemic inflammation and high blood pressure. This study aimed to evaluate the associations among anthropometric indicators, blood levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), lipid profile, blood glucose, insulin resistance, and blood pressure and determine the actual predictors of hsCRP and blood pressure in overweight/obese nondiabetic women in Tehran.

Subjects and methods: A total of 200 women with body mass index (BMI) of ≥25 kg/m² were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Dietary intake and anthropometric as well as laboratory evaluations, including fasting plasma glucose (FPG), lipid profile, serum insulin, and hsCRP, were performed for all the subjects. Pearson (r) and Spearman (r(s)) correlation coefficients and multivariate linear regression analysis were used to establish a model to predict hsCRP and systolic blood pressure (SBP) variations.

Results: Although serum hsCRP directly correlated with levels of FPG, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol, BMI, and waist circumference (WC), its strongest association was found with percent of body fat mass (FM) (r(s) = 0.326, p < 0.001). Also, SBP directly correlated with FPG, TG, and FM, but it was more strongly correlated with BMI (r = 0.343, p < 0.001) and WC (r(s) = 0.350, p < 0.001). No association was found between blood or anthropometric variables and dietary data. In different regression models, WC and FM were the predictors of hsCRP, but BMI was the significant predictor of SBP.

Conclusion: Adiposity in Iranian middle-aged women can affect both inflammatory biomarkers and SBP, thus predisposing for metabolic syndrome and further morbidities. We identified FM and WC as the predictors of serum hsCRP levels and BMI as the predictor of SBP in our population.