Abstract
Persistent low-grade systemic inflammation has been increasingly recognized as a common pathological process, and an important contributing factor to cardiovascular diseases and its risk factor, metabolic syndrome. Immunoglobulin M is reactive to multiple autoantigens and is inferred to be important for autoimmunity, implying that immunoglobulin M may be a potential risk factor for metabolic syndrome. However, few epidemiological studies are available which are related to this potential link. Therefore, we designed a cross-sectional study of 9,379 subjects to evaluate the relationship between immunoglobulin M and metabolic syndrome in an adult population. Subjects who received health examinations were recruited from the Tianjin Medical University General Hospital-Health Management Center in Tianjin, China. Immunoglobulin M was determined with an immunonephelometric technique. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the criteria of the American Heart Association scientific statements of 2009. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between the quartiles of immunoglobulin M and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. After adjustment for covariates, the odds ratio of having metabolic syndrome in the fourth quartile compared with the first quartile of immunoglobulin M was 1.19 times for males (95% confidence interval, 1.002–1.41) and 1.39 times for females (95% confidence interval, 1.07–1.80). Immunoglobulin M levels also showed positive relationships with the ratio of elevated triglycerides and reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in males. The study is the first to show that immunoglobulin M is independently related to metabolic syndrome and its individual components (elevated triglycerides and reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) in males, whereas immunoglobulin M is independently related to metabolic syndrome in females but not to its individual components. Further studies are needed to explore the causality and the exact role of immunoglobulin M in metabolic syndrome.
Highlights
Chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancer, and age-related diseases have long been considered among the most important global public health issues [1]
No significant relations were found between Immunoglobulin M (IgM) quartiles and other Metabolic syndrome (MS) components in the final multivariate models in females (Table 4). In this cross-sectional study, we have investigated the relationships between levels of IgM concentration and MS in an adult population
No previous studies have indicated that serum IgM levels were positively and significantly related to MS among the general population
Summary
Chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancer, and age-related diseases have long been considered among the most important global public health issues [1]. Persistent chronic low-grade systemic inflammation has been increasingly recognized as a common pathological process and an important contributing factor to MS or CVD [3,4,5,6]. Many immune cells infiltrate or populate in adipose tissue and promote chronic low-grade inflammation [10]. Fat cells, those in the visceral fat, are considered an immune organ. These cells secrete numerous immune modulating molecules which directly contribute to the development of low-grade inflammation [11,12]. Obesity is, due to innate immunity and/or humoral immune responses that trigger autoantibody production, the most important risk factor for inducing a systemic inflammatory response
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