Abstract
Objective: To determine the role of serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), homocysteine (HCY) and total cholesterol (TC) in normal weight (NW) and overweight (OW) adult men with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
Methodology: Adult with normal weight and overweight men with T2DM (n:192, age: 35-40 years) and control men (n:194, age: 35-40 years) in the present case-control observational study investigation were categorized into four sub-groups: NW non-diabetics (NW-ND, n:92, BMI:18.5-24.9 kg/m2), NW diabetics (NW-DM, n:92, BMI:18.5-24.9 kg/m2), OW-ND (n:102, BMI:25.0-29.9 kg/m2), and OW-DM (n:100, BMI:25.0-29.9 kg/m2). Age and BMI of the participants in all four sub-groups were correlated. Serum IL-6, Hcy, TC, hemoglobin (Hb) and hepcidin (Hp) were determined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits.
Results: Serum IL-6, Hcy and TC showed highly significant variations (p<0.001) among groups. The intergroup comparisons showed that IL-6, Hcy and TC differed significantly for OW-ND vs OW-DM and NW-DM vs OW-DM. The age and BMI correlated positively in all groups with high significance (p<0.001). A positive significant association of age with IL-6 (p:0.009), Hcy (p:0.005) and Hp (p:0.04) in OW-DM was found. BMI correlated positively and significantly with IL-6, Hcy and TC (p<0.001) in OW-DM as well as with IL-6 (p:0.005) and Hcy (p:0.001) in OW-ND. IL-6 showed a highly significant positive association with Hcy and TC in OW-DM (p<0.001) as well as with Hcy in OW-ND (p<0.001). Hcy associated positively and significantly with TC (p<0.001) in OW-DM, and with TC in OW-ND (p:0.002).
Conclusion: Significantly high serum levels of pro-inflammatory biomarkers (IL-6 and Hcy) and total cholesterol in OW-DM participants (whether compared with OW-ND or NW-DM participants) revealed a mutual pathophysiological influence on both OW status and T2DM.

Key words: Body mass index, diabetes mellitus-type 2, hepcidin, homocysteine, interleukin-6, overweight adult men, total cholesterol.