Research

Hormonal

Inflammation, marked by elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cells, and adhesion molecules, is a key nontraditional risk factor for CVD in diabetes, linked to insulin resistance and obesity.

Chronic, low-grade inflammation is a major driver of heart disease in diabetes, often stemming from excess body fat and insulin resistance. This inflammation damages blood vessels and promotes clotting. Strategies to reduce body weight and improve insulin sensitivity can lower inflammatory markers like CRP and reduce CVD risk.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Many of the risk factors identified may reflect underlying inflammation... Plasma CRP is elevated in obese subjects who have other features of the IRS... inflammation originating from excess adipose tissue cytokine production may contribute not only to the development of the IRS but also to the associated CVD.
Vivian Fonseca et al. · Endocrine Reviews · 2004

Why this rating

Cited studies show CRP and other inflammatory markers are predictors of CVD and are elevated in insulin-resistant states.

Source

Nontraditional Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in Diabetes

Vivian Fonseca et al. · Endocrine Reviews · 2004

DOI 10.1210/er.2002-0034

narrative_reviewCited 167×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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