HP and type 2 diabetes mellitus: Several studies have associated T2DM with increased circulating levels of acute phase proteins such as C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid protein A1 (SAA1), haptoglobin as well as cytokines and chemokines (Pickup et al., 1997; Ridker et al., 2000; Pradhan et al., 2001; Festa et al., 2002; Freeman et al., 2002; Thorand et al., 2003).