Circulatory levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IL-1 β) and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in diabetic patients in Nigerian population

This study was designed to evaluate pro-inflammatory cytokine levels (IL-6 and IL-1 β) and NLR in T2DM subjects in Nigerian population. This was a case-control study involving 75 physician diagnosed T2DM subjects attending the Endocrine Clinic of a Tertiary Health Institution in Nigeria and 75 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals (used as control) who were recruited from the B lood Donor Center of the same institution. Based on physician assessment, the diabetic subjects were grouped differently into those with complications (48) and those without complications (27). Serum levels of IL-6 and IL-1β were measured using ELISA technique, while neutrophil and lymphocyte count s were evaluated using a hematology autoanalyzer from which NLR was calculated. NLR and serum levels of IL-6 were significantly (P <  0.05) higher in the diabetic group compared to control. However, there was no significant difference in NLR and IL-6 between diabetic subjects with or without complications. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in serum levels of IL-1β among the different groups. The results suggest that serum level of IL-1β is unaltered in T2DM subjects, but the disease is associated with elevations of IL-6 and NLR in Nigerian population. In addition, NLR and IL-6 may be useful diagnostic biomarkers of T2DM in Nigerian population but not for complications of the disease.
Source: Comparative Clinical Pathology - Category: Pathology Source Type: research