C-Reactive Protein Is Independently Associated With Fasting Insulin in Nondiabetic Women

OBJECTIVE—Insulin resistance is associated with chronic subclinical inflammation, and both conditions are linked with increased risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus and atherothrombotic cardiovascular disease. METHODS AND RESULTS—In a cross-sectional study conducted among participants in the Women’s Health Study, an ongoing US primary prevention trial of cardiovascular disease and cancer, we evaluated the correlates of elevated fasting insulin, a marker of insulin resistance, among 349 healthy, nondiabetic women who remained free from clinically diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus during a 4-year period from biomarker assessment. Fasting insulin was strongly associated with body mass index (BMI) (r =0.53, P