Investigation of the Effect of Serum IL-1β Levels on Atherosclerosis: A Turkish Population-Based Study

Abstract

Objective: Atherosclerosis, as a cardiovascular disease associated with chronic inflammatory conditions and involving a large number of risk factors, harbors a lot of unknowns. Evidence has emerged that almost all stages of the disease are intertwined with inflammation. It has not been fully elucidated in which stages and how interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), which is associated with inflammations, plays a role in the chronic inflammatory process of the disease. Also, the effect on atherosclerosis progression and biomarker candidacy of IL-1β in the Turkish population is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum IL-1β expression levels and whether it is associated with changes in risk factors that develop due to the disease in the Turkish population. Materials and Methods: ELISA method was used to analyze the serum IL-1β levels. Statistical data was obtained utilizing the SPSS v.23 software. Results: No linkage evidence was found between the serum IL-1β and atherosclerosis (p>0.05). However, the serum IL-1β levels were significantly associated with gender, smoking status, and diabetes history within the study population were significantly associated (p=0.050). According to the lipid profile result, the triglyceride value was found to be significantly decreased in atherosclerosis patients when compared to healthy individuals (p=0.012). Additionally, factors including, gender, smoking status, and history of diabetes were significantly associated with serum cholesterol level (p=0.015). Conclusion: Although no correlation was found between the serum IL-1β levels of the study groups, it was observed that the serum IL-1β expression alters in patients with atherosclerosis depending on age. In addition, low triglyceride levels may be a marker of disease in atherosclerosis patients. Studies involving different ethnic groups with a large sample and identifying the stages of the disease are necessary to confirm these results.

Keywords

• Atherosclerosis
• inflammation
• IL-1β
• triglyceride
• lipid level
• serum

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