The association of low-grade inflammation, urinary albumin, and insulin resistance with metabolic syndrome in nondiabetic Taiwanese.

Metabolic syndrome, which involves different pathological mechanisms in associated disorders including inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and insulin resistance, results in the development of cardiovascular diseases. The effect of the accumulative abnormalities of metabolic components and the relationship of each component to these associated disorders have not been clearly delineated. We therefore conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the accumulative effect and the correlation of components of the metabolic syndrome to C-reactive protein (CRP), urinary albumin excretion (UAE), and the homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR). A total of 200 nondiabetic subjects received assessment of metabolic syndrome and measurements of serum CRP, UAE, and HOMA-IR. As the number of abnormalities of metabolic syndrome increased in subjects, the CRP, UAE, and HOMA-IR were significantly elevated (P value for trend less than .001, all). Waist circumference was an independent risk factor for CRP (P = .012); waist circumference and systolic blood pressure were independent risk factors for UAE (P = .010 and P < .001, respectively); and waist circumference, triglyceride, and glucose were independent risk factors for HOMA-IR (P < .001, all). More metabolic abnormalities were associated with higher risk of inflammation, urinary albumin, and insulin resistance. Waist circumference was the only independent risk factor for all 3 associated diseases in metabolic syndrome.