title: Significance of inflammatory markers in diabetic patients with stable coronary artery disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patients with diabetes are prone to coronary artery disease (CAD); however, the majority of diabetic patients show normal coronary arteries. We examined differences in the clinical aspects of diabetic patients with insignificant and with significant stenosis of the coronary artery.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 418 consecutive diabetic patients with stable angina who had undergone coronary angiography from January 2004 to March 2007 were included in this study. Patients were subdivided into control and CAD groups and then clinical characteristics and CAD-associated factors were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 92 (22%) patients were assigned to the control group and 326 (78%) patients were assigned to the CAD group. Using univariate regression analysis, we found that patients with CAD were significantly older (control vs. CAD; 59+/-21 vs. 64.7+/-33.7, years, p<0.001), had a longer duration of diabetes (8.2+/-21.8 vs. 10.2+/-29.8, years, p=0.027), higher titers of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP; 0.3+/-6.79 vs. 0.9+/-12.6, mg/dL, p=0.015), and increased hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels (7.1+/-3.8 vs. 7.5+/-4.8, %, p=0.007) compared to control patients. Multivariate regression analysis showed that only differences in age, hsCRP, and HbA1c were statistically significant. When patients were subdivided into groups based on hsCRP levels (208 patients in the low group [49.8%], 210 patients in the high group [50.2%]), we found that patients with higher hsCRP levels showed more frequent multivessel disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In diabetic patients, age, hsCRP, and HbA1c were associated with stable CAD. Among these factors, hsCRP levels were significantly correlated with multivessel involvement in diabetic CAD. Therefore, high hsCRP levels may be a strong predictor for atherosclerotic progression of the coronary arteries in diabetic patients, suggesting that regular screening tests should be performed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyo-Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sung-Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Her
authors.forename: Yun-Sun
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Im
authors.forename: Kang-Yeon
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Won
authors.forename: Sun-Hong
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Dong-Bin
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dong-Il
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Pum-Joon
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ki-Bae
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Seung
authors.forename: Jae-Hyung
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Keon-Yeop
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood*; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; C517652:hemoglobin A1c protein, human