Interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha inflammatory markers association with arterial stiffness in Vitamin D3 deficiency, obese and diabetic emirati population

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death both globally and in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Vitamin D deficiency, obesity and diabetes mellitus (DM) are significantly prevalent in the UAE population and are considered high-risk factors for CVDs. In the meantime, arterial stiffness has been reported to be an independent predictor of CVDs with a strong association with vascular inflammatory reactions. Aims and Objectives: Identify and analyze specific inflammatory biomarkers associated with arterial stiffness in order to enhance the detection and prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) among high-risk patients. Materials and Methods: We have recruited 23 middle-aged Emiratis with the following criteria: 11 individuals as controls (Vitamin D level >20 ng and body mass index [BMI] <30), 9 patients with Vitamin D deficiency (Vitamin D level ≤20 ng) and obese (BMI ≥30) and 3 patients with Vitamin D deficiency (Vitamin D level ≤20 ng), obese (BMI ≥30) and previously diagnosed with type 2 DM. Several inflammatory biomarkers were measured in the plasma samples using Luminex Human Cytokine Pre-mixed Kit. Results: Arterial stiffness was measured using pulse-wave velocity (PWV). The PWV relative to age was significantly higher in both patient groups compared to the control group. Furthermore, there is a significant increase in the plasma protein levels of interleukin (IL)-6 cytokine (P = 0.0229) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) cytokine (P = 0.0258) in Vitamin D deficiency, obese and diabetic patients compared to the control group. The rest of the inflammatory markers did not show statistically significant changes in the plasma levels. Conclusion: Our findings reveal that individuals with Vitamin D deficiency, obesity, and DM exhibit elevated plasma protein levels of IL-6 and TNF-α cytokines when compared to the control group and individuals with only Vitamin D deficiency or obesity. These increased levels of cytokines are closely associated with arterial stiffness, highlighting their potential as biomarkers for early detection of vascular damage in high-risk patients, thereby aiding in the prevention of CVDs. However, further research with a larger cohort is warranted to validate and explore these significant pathways and biomarkers in greater detail.