Inflammation is a common phenotype for cardiometabolic disorders. In this study, 
we attempted to investigate inter-relationships between metabolic syndrome 
(MetS), C-reactive protein (an inflammatory biomarker) and chronic kidney 
disease (CKD). We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data from a 
representative sample of 4425 Chinese adults in Taiwan. The MetS was defined by 
a unified criteria set by several major organizations. A CKD event was defined 
as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min per 1.73 m(2). 
Additionly, a CRP cutpoint of 3 mg/L was used to differentiate high and low CRP 
levels. Overall, 1000 participants had MetS, resulting in a prevalence rate of 
22.6%. High CRP level was noted in 782 (17.6%) subjects. In addition, a total of 
508 (11.5%) persons qualified as having CKD. Subjects with the MetS had 
1.55-fold [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03-2.32] increased odds of CKD 
compared with their counterparts without the MetS after multiple adjustments. In 
addition, there was a significantly graded relationship between increasing 
levels of serum CRP and prevalent CKD (p for trend = 0.001). Participants in the 
highest category of serum CRP had a significantly elevated odds of CKD as 
compared with those in the lowest category [odds ratio (OR), 1.60; 95% CI, 
1.21-2.12]. However, there was no interaction in excess of additive scale 
between the presence of MetS and high CRP level (p = 0.83). These findings 
suggest that MetS and high CRP were independently associated with increased 
prevalence of CKD in Chinese adults.