Influence of Interleukin-6 (174G/C) Gene Polymorphism on Obesity in Egyptian Children

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a multi-factorial chronic disorder. A considerable number of studies have been performed to figure out whether there is an association between obesity and polymorphisms of gene IL-6 (174G/C), but the results are equivocal. AIM: This study aimed to find out whether the IL-6 (174G/C) gene was associated with the risk of developing obesity in Egyptian children. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study included 149 children and adolescents with age ranged between 9.5 – 18 years. Eighty-five of them were obese which BMIZ-score is > 2, and sixty-four children with BMIZ-score ≤ 2 served as control group. Serum level of IL-6 and genetic analysis for IL-6 (174G/C) gene polymorphism were done. RESULTS: Obese children had significantly higher serum levels of IL-6 as compared to those of control children (P = 0.003). A high percentage of IL-6 polymorphism GC was found in obese subjects (93.7%), while the control group had a higher percentage of IL-6 polymorphism GG (70.6 %). CONCLUSION: Our study showed that carriers of the C allele for the IL-6 (174G/C) polymorphism have higher BMI. As the G174C polymorphism is likely to affect IL-6 expression and its physiological regulation; consequently this polymorphism may affect adiposity.