Association between metabolic disturbances and G-174C polymorphism of interleukin-6 gene in obese children

The aim of the study was to investigate whether the G-174C polymorphism of the IL-6 gene is related to obesity and the incidence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) according to IDF definition in children.

The examined group included 124 obese children with BMI > or = 2 SDS, and the control group consisted of 56 non-obese children with BMI <1.0 SDS. Polymorphism identification was performed in total genomic DNA using PCR-RFLP method.

In the obese children, carriers of C allele in homozygotic and heterozygotic genotypes were more frequent than in the control group. The carriers of C alleles presented with lower thickness of subcutaneous tissue and higher concentrations of HDL-C than the wild type. The incidence of MetS was 33% of the group of obese children. Analysis of the presence of MetS factors showed that there is more frequent MetS in the group with the wild homozygous genotype type.

Polymorphism 174G>C in the IL-6 gene does not seem to be associated with obesity and with the incidence of MetS in children.