Interleukin-6 polymorphisms are associated with obesity and hyperglycemia in Mexican adolescents

Interleukin-6 is an inflammatory response mediator used as a metabolic marker of obesity. Polymorphisms IL6 -597C>A, -572G>C, and -174G>C modify the production of this protein. The associations between these haplotypes and obesity or metabolic markers have not been studied in adolescents, so an analysis of these associations was performed.

The cross-sectional study included 745 apparently healthy 14- to 19-year-old adolescents. Obesity, serum glucose, insulin, triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were evaluated, and IL6 -597G>A, -572G>C and -174G>C polymorphisms determined. The associations were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression models.

The allele frequencies were 0.15 for -597A and -174C and 0.30 for -572C. Genotypes were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. IL-6(-597/-572/-174) haplotypes GGG, GCG, and AGC comprised 99.74% of the total haplotypes. The associations were significant between genotype GCG/GCG and hyperglycemia (OR = 2.86, 95% CI = 1.02-7.97); between GCG/GCG and high hs-CRP (OR = 6.17, 95% CI = 1.13-33.77); between AGC/AGC and obesity (OR = 4.42, 95% CI = 1.40-14.01); and between GGG/GCG and low HDL-C (OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.03-2.28).

Genotypes of the IL6(-597/-572/-174) polymorphisms are associated with metabolic risk factors in Mexican adolescents.