title: Increased levels of C-reactive protein and fibrinogen influence the risk of vascular events in patients with NIDDM.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the predictive role of hs-CRP and fibrinogen for cardio- and cerebrovascular events in a population of patients with type 2 diabetes.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 156 patients with type 2 diabetes, mean age 66+10 years, and 156 sex and age matched control subjects. Patients underwent physical examination, EKG, measurement of body mass index and blood pressure. A blood sample was drawn to evaluate glycaemia, total and HDL/LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), fibrinogen. Finally, patients underwent an ecocolordoppler examination of the common carotid arteries until the bifurcation. In a follow-up of 5+/-1.2 years we evaluated the following events: transient ischemic attack, ischemic stroke, stable or unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction, critical limb ischemia and cardiovascular death.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the follow-up the prevalence of fatal (p<0.05) and non fatal events (p<0.0001) was higher in patients with diabetes in comparison with controls. The variables independently associated with non fatal events were: fibrinogen (p<0.0001), presence of asymptomatic carotid lesion (p<0.005), obesity (p<0.05) and plasma levels of hs-CRP (p<0.05), while fibrinogen (p<0.001) and age were (p<0.05) independently associated with fatal events.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data show that in patients with diabetes mellitus, that in the follow-up the presence of high plasma levels of hs-CRP and fibrinogen are predictive for fatal or non fatal events.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular and Nephro-Urological Diseases, University of Palermo, Chair of Cardiovascular Disease, Palermo, Italy. koppolus@libero.it
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coppola
authors.forename: Egle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Corrado
authors.forename: Ida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Muratori
authors.forename: Rosalba
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tantillo
authors.forename: Giustina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vitale
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lo Coco
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Novo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D005340:Fibrinogen; D002097:C-Reactive Protein