title: Comparison of serum concentrations of C-reactive protein, TNF-alpha, and interleukin 6 between elderly Korean women with normal and impaired glucose tolerance.
abstract: This study was performed to compare concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) as well as acute-phase protein, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) between subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). The purpose of this study was to verify whether the pro-inflammatory cytokine-induced acute-phase response is a pathogenic mechanism in type 2 diabetes in elderly Korean women. A total of 1737 elderly subjects aged over 60 years participated in a population based study in Seoul, Korea (SWS Study 1999). Amongst them, a total of 232 non-smoking and non-diabetic female subjects aged 60-89 years was randomly selected and compared with each other. Higher serum high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) concentrations were shown in subjects with IGT than those with normal glucose tolerance (median 1.2 versus 0.9, P < 0.05). Moreover, a relationship between serum hs-CRP concentrations and many components of the metabolic syndrome were detected. Serum pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 or TNF-alpha concentrations, however, were neither increased in subjects with IGT nor closely correlated with the components of the metabolic syndrome. In multiple regression analysis with stepwise selection method using hs-CRP as a dependent variable, it was found that white blood cell (WBC) counts, body mass index (BMI), fasting insulin, post-load 2h glucose, hematocrit and LDL cholesterol were significant independent variables. Our study confirms that increased acute-phase reaction is associated with impaired glucose tolerance and the metabolic syndrome in elderly Korean women. However, the hypothesis that pro-inflammatory cytokine-induced systemic inflammation is an early metabolic defect prior to onset of type 2 diabetes, is not supported in our study of elderly Korean women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, 80 Guro-Dong, Guro-Gu, Seoul 152-050, South Korea.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Baik
mesh_terms: D000210:Acute-Phase Reaction / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D018149:Glucose Intolerance / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000209:etiology; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D002097:C-Reactive Protein