Association of
novel inflammatory predictor serum C-reactive protein (CRP)/Albumin ratio with diabetic
kidney disease in type 2 diabetes patients
Ramesh V., Lakshmiprabha S., Ponnudhali D., Sridevi M. and Jeyachandran G.
Res. J. Biotech.; Vol. 20(1); 142-148;
doi: https://doi.org/10.25303/201rjbt1420148; (2025)
Abstract
Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is one of the largest health problems globally and
poses a potentially significant economic burden. Chronic inflammation in patients
with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) is involved in the onset and development of
DKD. In recent times, a novel inflammatory predictor, serum C-reactive protein (CRP)/albumin
ratio has been studied in various inflammatory conditions. Since DKD is associated
with chronic and low-grade inflammation, we aimed to analyze the levels of CRP/albumin
ratio for the patients with type 2 Diabetic kidney disease (T2DKD) to those without
DKD. A total of 176 diabetic patients were enrolled in the study, of which 81 were
T2DKD and 95 were T2DM. The baseline demographic and clinical data including CRP/albumin
ratio between the study groups were compared. Multivariate logistic regression analysis
was used to analyze the independent risk factors of T2DKD and the receiver operating
characteristic curve (ROC) was established to evaluate the predictive value of CRP/albumin
ratio on T2DKD.
CRP/albumin ratio was found to be an independent risk factor for DKD (after adjustment
to potential confounders such as BMI, Fasting blood glucose, HbA1C and total cholesterol).
The ROC analysis revealed that C-reactive protein/albumin ratio levels greater than
0.69 mg/g have 79 % sensitivity and 78% specificity in predicting DKD. Our results
show that CRP/albumin ratio was elevated in type 2 diabetic patients with kidney
disease. Thus, DKD is accompanied by elevated CRP levels, suggesting activation
of inflammatory pathways in the progression of renovasculopathies.
