Association of Systemic Inflammatory biomarkers with Resting Heart Rate and Blood Pressure in Adults with Obesity: A Multivariable regression Analysis

Abstract Background: Obesity is associated with chronic low-grade systemic inflammation, which may contribute to alterations in cardiovascular regulation. Inflammatory biomarkers such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) have been implicated in cardiovascular dysfunction. However, their independent associations with resting heart rate and blood pressure remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between systemic inflammatory biomarkers and cardiovascular parameters among adults with obesity. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted 220 adults aged 18–65 years with a body mass index (BMI) of ≥30 kg/m². The associations of hs-CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α with resting heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure were evaluated using separate multivariable regression models. The models were adjusted for age, sex, BMI, smoking status, physical activity, diabetes mellitus, and antihypertensive medication use. Multiple-comparison adjustment was applied to assess the statistical robustness of the observed associations. Results: Nominal associations were observed between IL-6 and systolic blood pressure and between hs-CRP and diastolic blood pressure. However, these associations did not remain statistically significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons. TNF-α showed no statistically significant association with resting heart rate, systolic blood pressure, or diastolic blood pressure. Overall, none of the inflammatory biomarkers demonstrated statistically robust independent associations with the cardiovascular parameters following multivariable adjustment. Conclusion: The findings indicate that hs-CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α are not independently associated with resting heart rate or blood pressure among adults with obesity after accounting for potential confounding factors and multiple comparisons. Further large-scale longitudinal studies are warranted to clarify the relationship between systemic inflammation and cardiovascular regulation in obesity. Keywords: Obesity; Systemic inflammation; hs-CRP; Interleukin-6; Tumour necrosis factor-alpha; Resting heart rate; Blood pressure; Multivariable regression.