The prevalence of elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in normal pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in normal pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and to compare the prevalence in both groups. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a case–control study between April 2015 and April 2016. Statistical analysis was performed by the SPSS program version 17. Categorical variables were analyzed using either the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Pregnant women who underwent oral glucose tolerance test at 24–28 weeks of gestation were enrolled. We took 25 women with GDM as cases and 25 normal pregnant as control. These patients were analyzed for the level of hs-CRP. RESULTS: The prevalence of elevated hs-CRP in controls was 28% whereas in cases was 76%, with a P = 0.002 which is significant in this study. When compared to elevated hs-CRP in GDM with body mass index and gravid state a P = 0.430, 0.378 was obtained respectively which was not significant whereas age had a P = 0.049 which was significantly associated with elevated hs-CRP (≥3 mg/L). CONCLUSION: Our result shows an increased level of hs-CRP in GDM as compared to normal pregnant subjects. In this study, we also observed an association of increasing age with elevated level of hs-CRP in GDM. Therefore, hs-CRP can be used as a screening tool for early detection and risk assessment of GDM.