Sinha SK, Nicholas SB, Sung JH, et al. - Since C-reactive protein (CRP) is connected with prevalent diabetic nephropathy (DN), but its relation with incident DN in African Americans (AA) is unexplored, researchers analyzed hs-CRP and incident DN in AA. A longitudinal analysis of data was conducted from exams 1, 2, and 3 in 4,043 eligible Jackson Heart Study candidates. Participants with DN or without hs-CRP at exam 1 have been excluded. Participants who developed DN had significantly higher baseline hs-CRP, age, fasting glucose, triglyceride, albumin-to-creatinine ratio, systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, and duration of DM during 7.8 years of median follow-up time. Data reported that the overall rate of DN incidents was 7.9%. For participants with hs-CRP in the high tertile (> 4.24 mg/L), the mean time for incident DN was shorter than in the low tertile (< 1.46 mg/L). High hs-CRP participants had a greater incidence of DN vs the reference group. Findings suggested that inflammation can be linked to incident DN in AA as measured by hs-CRP levels. In order to replicate and elucidate the basis for this association, further studies are required.