Veysel AĞAN
Acta Medica Ruha - 2026;4(3):150-158
Introduction: Low-grade systemic inflammation is increasingly recognized as a key mechanism linking obesity to adverse cardiometabolic outcomes. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the associations between serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, body composition parameters, metabolic age, and metabolic biomarkers in apparently healthy adults. Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, 150 adults attending an Internal Medicine outpatient clinic were included. Participants were classified as normal weight, overweight, or obese according to World Health Organization body mass index (BMI) criteria. Body composition was assessed using bioelectrical impedance analysis, and serum CRP was used as a marker of low-grade systemic inflammation. Group comparisons, Spearman correlation analyses, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses, and Jonckheere-Terpstra trend tests were performed. Results: Significant differences across BMI categories were observed for metabolic age, body fat percentage, fat mass, triglycerides, uric acid, and CRP levels (all p < 0.001). CRP levels were positively correlated with BMI (r = 0.584), metabolic age (r = 0.601), body fat percentage (r = 0.439), fat mass (r = 0.533), triglycerides (r = 0.461), and uric acid (r = 0.252) (all p < 0.01). ROC analysis demonstrated that metabolic age had the highest ability to discriminate between lower and higher CRP categories (AUC = 0.861), followed by BMI (AUC = 0.849) and fat mass (AUC = 0.814). Increasing CRP tertiles were associated with progressive increases in adiposity-related and metabolic parameters. Conclusion: These findings suggest that metabolic age may represent a practical and sensitive marker of low-grade systemic inflammation and cardiometabolic risk in apparently healthy adults.
