Correlation of Serum Homocysteine, Interleukin-6 and Cholesterol in Overweight Women of Reproductive Age Group with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Case-control Study

Introduction: Overweight (OW) status and obesity increase the risk of a variety of diseases, including Diabetes Mellitus (DM), during childbearing age. There are conflicting outcomes regarding the contribution of various risk factors in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) with or without being OW. The role of Homocysteine (Hcy) in association with Body Mass Index (BMI), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Total Cholesterol (TC), and other factors in Normal Weight (NW) and OW women of reproductive age with T2DM is not clearly understood. Aim: To investigate the influence of BMI and T2DM on serum levels of Hcy in association with IL-6, TC, and other related factors, and vice-versa, in NW and OW female subjects of reproductive age. Materials and Methods: The present case-control study involved a group of menstruating women with T2DM (n: 166; age: 35- 40 years), further divided into age-matched NW DM (NW-DM, n: 80) and OW DM (OW-DM, n: 86) subgroups, along with an age-matched control group of women (n: 168; age: 35-40 years) consisting of NW non diabetic (NW-ND, n: 80) and OW non diabetic (OW-ND, n: 88) subgroups. This study aimed to determine and correlate the levels of BMI, serum Hcy, IL-6, TC, and other variables. Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kits and routine procedures were used to determine the levels of these variables. Results: Serum Hcy, IL-6, and TC varied significantly between OW-DM vs. OW-ND and OW-DM vs. NW-DM (p<0.05). The OWDM group presented a significant correlation of age with IL-6 (p<0.023). Serum TC, Hcy, and IL-6 showed a highly significant correlation with BMI among OW-DM subjects. Hcy showed a significant positive linear correlation with IL-6 in OW-ND, NWDM, and OW-DM women, as well as with TC in OW-ND and OW-DM women. Conclusion: The present study highlights the involvement of serum Hcy associated with BMI, IL-6, TC, and other related factors in OW women with T2DM of reproductive age.