Interleukin-18 levels are not associated with subclinical carotid atherosclerosis in a community population The Perth Carotid Ultrasound Disease Assessment Study (CUDAS)

• Published in: Atherosclerosis Vol. 189; no. 2; pp. 414 - 419
• Main Authors: CHAPMAN, Caroline M. L, MCQUILLAN, Brendan M, BEILBY, John P, THOMPSON, Peter L, HUNG, Joseph
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier 01.12.2006
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Atherosclerosis (general aspects, experimental research); Atherosclerosis - blood; Atherosclerosis - diagnostic imaging; Atherosclerosis - epidemiology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers - blood; Blood and lymphatic vessels; C-Reactive Protein - metabolism; Cardiology. Vascular system; Carotid Arteries - diagnostic imaging; Carotid Artery Diseases - blood; Carotid Artery Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Carotid Artery Diseases - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disease Progression; Diseases of the peripheral vessels. Diseases of the vena cava. Miscellaneous; Female; Fibrinogen - metabolism; Humans; Interleukin-18 - blood; Interleukin-6 - blood; Interleukin-8 - blood; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neurology; Neurosurgery; Population Surveillance; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Severity of Illness Index; Skull, brain, vascular surgery; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Ultrasonography; Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system; Western Australia - epidemiology; Prevalence; Interleukin; Tobacco smoking; Lipids; Cardiovascular disease; Asymptomatic; Immunity; Carotid arteries; Vascular disease; Interleukin 6; Blood vessel; Atherosclerosis; Fibrinogen; Arterial pressure; Blood pressure; Lipoprotein HDL; Interleukin-18; Ultrasound; Human; Hypertension; Cytokine; Cholesterol LDL; Inflammation; Triglyceride; Artery; Hip; Carotid; Risk factor; Circulatory system; Hemodynamics; Caucasoid
• ISSN: 0021-9150; 1879-1484
• DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2005.12.026

Interleukin (IL)-18 is a novel proinflammatory cytokine that plays a central role in innate and acquired immunity, making it a likely inflammatory candidate in atherosclerosis. We investigated whether circulating IL-18 levels were associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in a community population. Carotid intimal medial thickness (IMT) and carotid plaques were assessed in a cross-sectional study of 1111 randomly selected community subjects, aged 27-77 years. Baseline levels of IL-18, IL-6, high sensitive CRP (hsCRP), fibrinogen and white cell counts were measured along with conventional cardiovascular risk factors. Men had higher mean IL-18 levels than women (P<0.0001). Spearman rank correlations (r(s)) showed that IL-18 was weakly correlated with all inflammatory markers in the whole population (r(s) between 0.11 and 0.23, all P<0.001). IL-18 was also correlated with conventional risk factors including waist-hip ratio, BMI, blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL (inversely) and pack-years smoking (r(s) between 0.18 and 0.39, all P<0.001) but not with LDL-cholesterol. Independent predictors of IL-18 concentrations were waist-hip ratio, HDL, IL-6, hsCRP and hypertension. There was a positive univariate association of IL-18 levels with carotid IMT (P<0.001) and plaque prevalence (P<0.001) but no residual association after adjustment for conventional risk factors (both P>0.05). In a cross-sectional community population, IL-18 levels were related to traditional risk factors and inflammatory markers but were not independently associated with subclinical carotid atherosclerosis.