High-Sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs-CRP) has been recognized as a very useful and sensitive predictor of the future risk of myocardial infarction. But the clinical significance of hs-CRP in children remains uncertain. To confirm the existence of obesity-induced vascular inflammation and the association between metabolic syndromes and elevation of CRP in children, we investigated the relationship among CRP, obesity, blood pressure(BP), and serum lipids in schoolboys.

Twenty-eight obese(BMI 29.61±3.29 kg/m²) and 93 non-obese(BMI 18.99±2.21 kg/m²) boys aged 14 years were examined. Serum CRP levels was measured by the high sensitive latex turbidimetric immunoassay and subjects with CRP levels below 0.3 mg/dL were adopted to avoid the influence of acute infection.

Obese children had significantly higher hs-CRP levels than their non-obese group(0.104± 0.075 vs. 0.054±0.005 mg/dL). In the obese group, BMI, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, apolipoprotein B, atherogenic index, and triglyceride were significantly higher than in nonobese. The BMI, diastolic blood pressure, apolipoprotein E, atherognic index, and triglyceride showed positive correlation with log CRP by simple regression. Multiple regression analysis indicated that BMI and apolipoprotein E were strongly related to CRP.

This study revealed that obese children tended to have higher levels of serum hs- CRP, BP elevation and dyslipidemia than the control group and that BMI and apolipoprotein E were strongly related to CRP. These results indicate that obesity related metabolic syndrome can be developed in children.