Insulin Resistance & Inflammatory Markers in Obesity

Objective: To estimate the insulin resistance and its correlation to gender and inflammatory cytokines IL6 & TNF alpha in obese Pakistani patients. Methodology: In one fifty obese patients of both sex, weight, height and Waist circumference was noted and BMI was calculated. Fasting blood was drawn to check for blood sugar and insulin levels. IL6 and TNF alpha were checked via ELISA. Insulin resistance was calculated by HOMA IR. Results: Mean BMI in males was 29.566 +/- 4.4322 kg/m(2) and 33.96 +/- 5.5609 kg/m2 in females. Sixty one (40.7%) had normal insulin resistance (1.704 +/- 0.647) and 89 (59.3%) had increased insulin resistance (9.678 +/- 10.143). Mean TNF alpha and Mean IL6 were not statistically different in both the groups (p value 0.891 and 0.386 respectively). Mean HOMA IR was 5.649 +/- 6.03 in males and 6.8005 +/- 9.76 in females. Mean IL6 was 46.166 +/- 117.67pg/ml and mean TNF was 22.492 +/- 89.99pg/ml. IL6 and TNF was more in mates as compared to females (p-value 0.001). TNF alpha and IL6 significantly correlated to each other (p value 0.001). Conclusion: Insulin resistance was increased in sixty percent of obese subjects but showed no difference in mean inflammatory cytokine levels from those with normal HOMA IR. TNF and IL.6 levels were more in males. These markers significantly correlated to each other but not to obesity parameters.