title: Interleukin 6 SNP rs1800797 associates with the risk of adult-onset asthma.
abstract: Interleukin 6 (IL6) is an inflammatory cytokine that has been suggested to have an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma. IL6 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been associated with levels of IL6, and with childhood and prevalent adult asthma. A recent study also suggested that IL6 SNPs associate especially with atopic asthma. However, association of IL6 SNPs with adult-onset asthma has not been studied. In a population-based study of 467 incident adult-onset asthma cases and 613 disease-free controls from South Finland, we analyzed association of 6 tagging SNPs of the IL6 locus with the risk of adult-onset asthma and with atopy. Asthma was clinically diagnosed, and atopy was defined based on Phadiatop test. IL6 SNP rs1800797 associated with the risk of adult-onset asthma in a log additive model, with adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.31 (95% confidence interval 1.09-1.57), and especially with the risk of atopic adult-onset asthma when compared with non-atopic controls, aOR 1.46 (95% CI 1.12-1.90). This is the first study to show an association of IL6 with adult-onset asthma, and especially with atopic adult-onset asthma.
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research (CERH), University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|Medical Research Center Oulu (MRC Oulu), Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Lajunen
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research (CERH), University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|Medical Research Center Oulu (MRC Oulu), Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: J J K
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Jaakkola
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research (CERH), University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|Medical Research Center Oulu (MRC Oulu), Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Jaakkola
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6