Assessment of the relationship between anthropometric and metabolic parameters and C-Reactive Protein/Albumin ratio in obese individuals

Objective: Obesity, ranked second among preventable causes of death worldwide and declared one of the most significant health problems of the 21st century by the World Health Organization, is a low-grade chronic inflammatory condition. The C-Reactive Protein/Albumin (CAR) ratio is a newly recognized marker sensitive to inflammation. Our study aimed to investigate the association between anthropometric and metabolic parameters of obese individuals and CAR levels. Material and Method: Obese individuals with a BMI >30 and non-obese individuals with a BMI <30 between the ages of 18-75 were included in our study. Those with rheumatological disease, active infection, history of surgery in the last 3 months, those who received steroid treatment in the last 3 months, those with malignancy, pregnancy, chronic liver disease, stage 3-4 heart failure, or stage 4-5 chronic kidney disease were excluded from the study. Vital signs, anthropometric measurements, and laboratory values of the study patients were recorded. These parameters and CAR values were compared statistically between the groups. Results: A total of 100 people were included in the study: 36 women and 14 men in the obese group, and 28 women and 22 men in the non-obese group. The average age of the obese group was 51.5 (18-74) years, and the average age of the non-obese group was 29.5 (21-68) years. Laboratory values of CRP, HbA1C, insulin, glucose, uric acid, ALT, ALP, GGT, and triglyceride were found to be statistically significantly higher in the obese group than in the non-obese group (p<0.001 in all). A positive correlation was detected between CAR and age, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, and body fat ratio. It was determined that every 1 unit increase in CAR value increases the risk of obesity by 5.9 times (p<0.001, OR: 5.9, 95% CI: 3.68-7.98). By ROC curve analysis, the specificity and sensitivity of the CAR value in indicating obesity above 0.74 were determined to be 70% and 72%, respectively (p<0.001, AUC: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.64-0.83). Conclusion: We think that CAR is a simple and reliable parameter that can be used in the diagnosis of obesity and the prediction of metabolic complications in obese individuals.