C-Reactive Protein Levels do Not Correlate with Body Mass Index in Patients Hospitalized with Infectious Diseases: A Retrospective Study

Background: .C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase reactant protein synthesized in the liver. Human body proportions, such as body mass index (BMI), may affect CRP levels during infection. This study was carried out to investigate the relationship between CRP and BMI in obese versus non- obese patients hospitalized with common acute infections. Methods: A total of 445 patients admitted with diagnoses of pneumonia, urinary tract infections and cellulitis were included in the statistical analysis. Among them, 287 were diagnosed with pneumonia, 80 with UTIs and 78 with cellulitis. Each group was also divided according to their BMI. (< or ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ). We gathered data for serial CRP measurements performed on day 0-1, 1-3, and 4-6 of hospitalization as well as BMI levels for all patients. Other markers of acute inflammation, including WBC, fibrinogen level, LDH, as well as albumin level and GFR were recorded. Results: Overall, we found no difference in CRP levels in patients with or without obesity throughout the duration of their hospitalization. There was a trend of elevated CRP level at the beginning of hospitalization in the group with BMI≤30 (p=0.06). No correlation was found between CRP levels and BMI at the points of measurements during hospitalization in the three study groups. Conclusion: CRP levels do not correlate with BMI and with other biomarkers of inflammation in patients hospitalized with acute infectious diseases.