The association between inflammation and type 2 diabetes is well documented. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of classic inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6 and fibrinogen to predict the incidence of type 2 diabetes in the prospective Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). In this analysis, 5,571 individuals without clinical cardiovascular disease or diabetes from four ethnic groups (42.1% white, 25.7% black, 20.7% Hispanic, and 11.5% Chinese) aged 45-84 years were followed during a median follow-up of 4.7 years. The authors found that subjects with higher levels of CRP, IL-6, and fibrinogen had a higher incidence of diabetes over a 2- to 5-year interval in the entire sample. The association was attenuated but remained significant after adjusting for several covariates such as body mass index and insulin resistance for CRP and IL-6 (quartile 4 vs. quartile 1). These results were similar in each ethnic subgroup examined. This study showed that inflammatory markers can predict the incidence of type 2 diabetes comparably in a multiethnic American sample. The authors suggest that inflammatory markers may be useful to improve diabetes risk prediction and consequently better identify individuals who would benefit from lifestyle interventions.
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