title: Plasma levels of inflammatory cytokines in adult Nigerians with the metabolic syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study is to determine the plasma levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrotic factor alpha (TNF-α, and C-reactive protein (CRP) in adult Nigerians with the metabolic syndrome and to determine the relationship between components of the metabolic syndrome and CRP in adult Nigerians.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a case-control study of fifty adult men and women with the metabolic syndrome, and fifty age- and sex-matched males and females without the metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome was defined based on the National Cholesterol Education Programme-Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Written informed consent was obtained from the participants. Blood pressure and anthropometry measurements were taken and venous blood was collected after an overnight fast. The Ethics Committee of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria, approved the study protocol. Comparisons of continuous variables and categorical variables were done using the Student's t-test and Chi-square test, respectively. Regression analysis was used to determine the associations between variables. Statistical significance was set at P< 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The age- and sex-matched males and females with and without the metabolic syndrome did not differ in their sociodemographic characteristics. They however differed in some clinical and laboratory parameters such as diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.048), waist circumference (P = 0.002), body mass index (P = 0.012), waist/hip ratio (P = 0.023), high density lipoprotein (HDL) (P = 0.012), and insulin resistance (IR) (P = 0.042). There was a statistically significant increase in the inflammatory marker, CRP (P = 0.019), the cytokines, IL6 (P = 0.040), and TNF-α (P = 0.031) between the subjects with and without metabolic syndrome. There was also a significant association between CRP, waist circumference, IR, and HDL in the metabolic syndrome (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Plasma levels of inflammatory cytokines are raised in metabolic syndrome and this may provide novel strategies for the management of metabolic syndrome and related disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Udenze Ifeoma
authors.initials: UI
authors.lastname: Christiana
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Amadi E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Casimir
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomic and Molecular Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Awolola Awodele
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Nicholas
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Makwe C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Christian
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Ajie I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Obiefuna
keywords: Inflammation; insulin resistance; metabolic syndrome; obesity