An analysis of the associations of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and uric acid with metabolic syndrome components in Korean adults by sex: a cross-sectional study using the Korea national health and nutrition examination survey 2016–2018

BACKGROUND: Low-grade inflammation plays a role in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome (MetS), and measuring levels of inflammatory molecules, such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), may indicate Mets progression. Serum uric acid (SUA) has also been identified as an independent risk factor for MetS. This study aimed to investigate the association between MetS components and levels of serum hs-CRP and SUA using representative and reliable data for the Korean population. METHODS: This study used the data of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016–2018, a cross-sectional and nationally representative survey performed by the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. RESULTS: We analysed the data of 13,454 individuals. High hs-CRP levels were observed in 1,164 (8.7%) subjects while 3,296 (24.5%) subjects had high SUA levels. Moreover, hs-CRP was negatively correlated with serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (OR, 1.703; 95% CI, 1.431–2.027). When stratified by sex, this trend remained, but the correlation was stronger in women than in men. Furthermore, high SUA levels were significantly associated with hypertension (HTN) (OR, 1.399; 95% CI, 1.210–1.616), hypertriglyceridemia (OR, 1.735; 95% CI, 1.486–2.026), and low HDL (OR, 1.257; 95% CI, 1.106–1.429), but not with diabetes mellitus (DM) (OR, 0.478; 95% CI, 0.382–0.597). When grouped by sex, this trend remained, however, all MetS components were found to be more prevalent in women with high SUA. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed that low HDL was more prevalent in subjects with high hs-CRP, and high SUA levels were observed in subjects with HTN, hypertriglyceridemia, and low HDL. However, the prevalence of high SUA was lower in diabetic subjects.