International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | February 2021 | Vol 9 | Issue 2 Page 338 International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences Akinshipe BO et al. Int J Res Med Sci. 2021 Feb;9(2):338-346 www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012 Original Research Article Elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein among apparently healthy adults with concomitant prediabetes and latent tuberculosis infection in Nigeria Benson O. Akinshipe 1 *, Edirin O. Yusuf 2 , Alfred F. Ehiaghe 3 , Tunde O. Egunjobi 1 , Opeoluwa A. Yusuf 4 INTRODUCTION The global burden of disease from concomitant type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is immense. The increasing prevalence and convergence of DM and TB is an emerging public health problem, especially among adults in the lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where both disorders are common. 1,2 1 Departments of Medical Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Igbinedion University and Igbinedion University Teaching Hospital, Okada, Nigeria 2 Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Benin/ Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria 3 Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria 4 Department of Chemical Pathology, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria Received: 18 December 2020 Accepted: 15 January 2021 *Correspondence: Dr. Benson O. Akinshipe, E-mail: bensonakinshipedr01@yahoo.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: The increasing prevalence and convergence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and active tuberculosis (TB) comorbidity, especially in adults in the lower-and middle-income countries, demand new approaches to control the ‘syndemic’. Consequently, we set out to investigate the possibility of early detection of prediabetes mellitus and/or latent tuberculosis infection using novel method. Methods: This was a case-control study of 105 adults classified into 4 groups: Healthy Community Controls (HCC, n=30); Prediabetes mellitus (PDM, n=25); Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI, n=23); Individuals with Prediabetes mellitus+Latent Tuberculosis Infection (PDM+LTBI, n=27). Sera collected were assayed for high-sensitivity C- reactive protein (hs-CRP) using the ultra-sensitive Human high sensitivity C-reactive protein ELISA Kit (Melsin Medical Co., Ltd, China). Other ancillary tests and measurements done include Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate, serum Glycated-hemoglobin (HbA1c), Interferon-gamma (INF-ϒ) and Waist circumference. Results: A total of 88 (83.8%) of the enrolled participants had full complement of results and were included in the analysis of four study groups: HCC (n=25), PDM (n=21), LTBI (n=19) and PDM+ LTBI (n=23). With respect to the serum biomarkers, isolated PDM and LTBI cases recorded significantly higher HbA1c (%) and INF-ϒ positivity respectively. Predictors of PDM+LTBI show statistically significant higher tertile (T3), representing elevated hs-CRP levels, (OR=6.50, 95% CI=4.83-22.39, p=0.0037). Conclusions: This study revealed that persons harboring the two associated asymptomatic conditions, PDM + LTBI have higher inflammatory state detectable by assaying the biomarker, hs-CRP, which could be used for ‘one-time bi- directional targeted screening’ for PDM in LTBI and vice versa. Keywords: Adults, Biomarker, Highly-Sensitive C-reactive protein, Latent tuberculosis infection, Prediabetes DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20210407