Cytokine-mediated inflammation is independently associated with insulin sensitivity measured by the euglycemic insulin clamp in a community-based cohort of elderly men.

Both clinical and experimental studies suggest a close relation between an inflammatory state and insulin resistance. We investigated the association between cytokine-mediated inflammation (high sensitivity C reactive protein [hsCRP] and interleukin [IL] 6) and insulin sensitivity (insulin-mediated glucose disposal rate, assessed by the euglycemic insulin clamp) in a community-based cohort, with subgroup analyses of normal weight individuals without diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome (NCEP). hsCRP and IL-6 were inversely associated with insulin sensitivity (multivariable-adjusted regression coefficient for 1-SD increase of hsCRP -0.12 (-0.21-(-0.03), p=0.01) and of IL-6 -0.11 (-0.21-(-0.02), p=0.01) in models adjusting for age and components of the metabolic syndrome (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, antihypertensive drugs, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting plasma glucose, waist circumference). The multivariable-adjusted association between hsCRP, IL-6 and insulin sensitivity were of a similar magnitude in normal weight individuals without diabetes and without the metabolic syndrome. Our data show that cytokine -mediated subclinical inflammation is independently associated with decreased insulin sensitivity also in apparently metabolically healthy normal weight individuals, indicating that the interplay between inflammatory processes and insulin resistance is present already in the early stages of the development of glucometabolic disease.