IL-1β level in Sudanese patients with atherosclerotic coronary heart disease

Abstract

Background: High level of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is common in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). However, the effects of age and ethnicity onIL- 1β levels are not clear. Aim: This study assessed IL-1β level in Sudanese patients with CHD and evaluated the effect of age on systemic level of IL-1β. Methods and materials: The study involved a control group of eighty-one apparently healthy subjects and a test group of one hundred patients with atherosclerotic CHD proved by coronary angiography. Patients’ glycaemic control, lipid profile and the levels of IL-1β were assessed using appropriate laboratory tests. Patients with CHD were classified according to their ages into < 40, 40-49, 50-59 and ≥ 60 years old. Results: Age correlates negatively with IL-1β level (correlation coefficient = - 0.324, P = 0.000). The mean level of IL- 1β in patients with atherosclerotic CHD (M±SD = 7.05±27.18 pg/ml) was significantly lower compared with the control group (M±SD = 9.86±7.41 pg/ml). The mean level of IL-1β in atherosclerotic patients with CHD less than 40 years old (M±SD = 48.52±85.59pg/ml) was significantly higher (P = 0.005) compared with the control group (M±SD = 1.17±5.65 pg/ml). In contrast, the means of IL-1β in patients with atherosclerotic CHD among subjects ≥ 40 years old and in all age classes were significantly lower compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Alteration in IL-1 β levels among atherosclerotic patients with CHD is age-dependent; increasing in those < 40 years and declining in those ≥ 40 years.

Keywords: Age, atherosclerosis, interleukin-1β, coronary heart disease.