High IL-6 level as a marker of lumbar osteoarthritis in patients older than 55 years with low back pain

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is a common clinical condition encountered by most physicians, but the cause and risk factors are still unclear. Cytokines such as IL-6 play an important role in cartilage degeneration, but the role of IL-6 in osteoarthritis (OA) is still debatable. Herein, we aimed to determine the association between high IL-6 levels and lumbar OA in patients older than 55 years with LBP. METHOD: This was a case–control study. Patients included 10 men and 14 women over 55 years of age with lumbar OA. The control group comprised 10 men and 14 women over 55 years of age without lumbar OA. IL-6 analysis was performed for all study subjects. RESULT: The mean age of patients in the case group for both men and women were 67.7±10.4 and 74.4±10.5 years, while that of the control group for both men and women were 67.7±6.3 and 64.9±6.1 years, respectively. Body mass index was not statistically significantly different between the two groups (men and women). Chi-squared analysis showed no statistically significant differences between nutritional status and lumbar OA. CONCLUSION: The probability of lumbar OA in LBP patients with high IL-6 levels (>6.60 pg/ mL) is five times greater than in those with low IL-6 levels (P=0.009). Women with high IL-6 levels have a 6.9-times greater probability of developing lumbar OA than men (P=0.03).