Abstract
BACKGROUND: The ultrasensitive C-reactive protein (us-CRP) is used for the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, but it is not well described as a marker for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome (MS). METHODS: An observational and transversal study of bank employees evaluated anthropometric, hemodynamic, and biochemical data. CRP values were determined using commercial kits from Roche Diagnostics Ltd, and MS criteria were analyzed according to National Cholesterol Education Program's - Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP/ATP III). RESULTS: A total of 88 individuals had MS, and 77.3% (n=68) of these showed alterations of us-CRP (P=0.0001, confidence interval [CI] 0.11-0.34). Individuals with MS had higher mean values of us-CRP in global measures (P=0.0001) and stratified by sex (P=0.004) than individuals without the syndrome. This marker exhibited significant differences with varying criteria for MS, such as waist circumference (P=0.0001), triglycerides (P=0.002), and diastolic blood pressure (P=0.007), and the highest levels of us-CRP were found in individuals with more MS criteria. CONCLUSION: us-CRP was strongly associated with the presence of MS and MS criteria in this group of workers. us-CRP is a useful and effective marker for identifying the development of MS and may be used as a reference in routine care.