title: Link between leptin and interleukin-6 levels in the initial phase of obesity related inflammation.
abstract: The mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of obesity-related atherosclerosis remain to be clarified. To investigate the preclinical phase, interleukin-6 (IL-6) plasma levels were analyzed together with clinical, anthropometric, inflammatory, and metabolic variables in a well-defined cohort of 677 young and middle-aged overweight/obese and normal-weight subjects. In the juvenile and adult overweight/obese study group, IL-6 levels were increased significantly compared with normal-weight, age-matched controls (P < 0.001). In both juveniles and adults, higher levels of IL-6 were observed in obese compared with overweight participants. Subjects with metabolic syndrome (MS) had significantly higher IL-6 levels than those without MS. In juveniles, leptin, and in adults, the waist-to-height ratio, turned out to be the best predictor of IL-6 plasma levels in a multiple stepwise regression model. Taken together, in every age group, interleukin-6 is associated positively with the grade of overweight. Interestingly, leptin, which is the best known adipokine, is associated predictively with interleukin-6 plasma levels only in juveniles, which may indicate an important role of this molecule in the initiation of obesity-related inflammation.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Institute of Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics, Medical University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 15, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Ingeborg
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stelzer
authors.forename: Sieglinde
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zelzer
authors.forename: Reinhard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Raggam
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Prüller
authors.forename: Martie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Truschnig-Wilders
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meinitzer
authors.forename: Wolfgang J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Schnedl
authors.forename: Renate
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Horejsi
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Möller
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weghuber
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reeves
authors.forename: Teodor T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Postolache
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mangge
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D055105:Waist Circumference
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D015850:Interleukin-6; D020738:Leptin