Background: We aimed to analyze the relationship between the combination with hypertension and the level of inflammatory cytokines in peripheral serum in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), and to explore the value of inflammatory cytokines in predicting type 2 DM combined with hypertension.
Methods: A total of 120 patients diagnosed with type 2 DM in our hospital from March 2014 to September 2016 were selected. The clinical data were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were divided into the combination with hypertension group (N.=56) and the non-combination with hypertension group (N.=64), including 75 males and 45 females.
Results: Duration of DM, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and also levels of inflammatory cytokines (hs-CRP, TNF-α and IL-6) in the combination with hypertension group were all significantly higher than those in the non-combination with hypertension group (P<0.05). The incidence rate of hypertension in patients with high-level hs-CRP, high-level TNF-α and high-level IL-6 were significantly higher than that in patients with normal levels (P<0.05). Type 2 DM patients with high-level inflammatory cytokines had significantly longer duration of DM, and higher FPG and HbA1c values than those with normal levels (P<0.05). Results also showed that hs-CRP, TNF-α and IL-6 were positively correlated with FPG, HbA1c and the hypertension grade, and FPG and HbA1c were also positively correlated with the hypertension grade.Logistic regression analysis revealed that hs-CRP, TNF-α, IL-6, the duration of DM, BMI, FPG, HbA1c, TC and LDL had independent values in predicting Type 2 DM combined with hypertension (P<0.05).
Conclusions: Levels of serum hs-CRP, TNF-α and IL-6 are significantly elevated in patients with type 2 DM combined with essential hypertension, which are important factors affecting changes in blood glucose. The higher the level of inflammatory cytokines is, the higher the grade of hypertension will be.