Correlation between C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 in patients with coronary artery disease complicated with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objective:To investigate the correlation between C-reactive protein(CRP) and interleukin-6(IL-6) in patients with coronary artery disease complicated with diabetes mellitus.Methods: The levels of serum CPR and IL-6 were measured in 34 patients with coronary disease complicated with type 2 diabetes mellitus,42 patients with coronary disease and 20 healthy subjects.Results:The levels of CRP and IL-6 were significantly higher in the patients with coronary artery disease complicated with diabetes mellitus(5.21±1.89 mg/L,7.40±2.98 ng/L,respectively) than in those with coronary artery disease not complicated with diabetes mellitus(3.30±1.10 mg/L,5.22±2.03 ng/L,respectively;P0.05) and the healthy control subjects(1.68±0.54 mg/L,3.38±1.85 ng/L,respectively;P0.05).The level of IL-6 was positively correlated with CRP in patients with coronary artery disease complicated with diabetes mellitus(r=0.708,P0.01).Conclusion:IL-6 and CRP may be involved in the active progress of atherosclerosis in patients with coronary disease complicated with diabetes mellitus and the close correlation between IL-6 and CRP may contribute to the pathogenesis of this process.