Background Inflammatory processes have been implicated in the development of atherosclerosis, and may also contribute to microvascular complications of diabetes.
Diabetic patients are at increased risk for vascular disease.
No associations between CRP and carotid intimal thickening, retinopathy, or nephropathy were found. In a large cohort of patients with Type 1 diabetes, elevated levels of CRP showed significant correlations with established vascular disease risk factors by univariate analysis, and with systolic and diastolic blood pressure by multivariate analysis. Women had significantly higher CRP then men. The cohort studied was relatively young, and prospective analysis will be needed to determine these relationships definitively.