American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access published online on June 25, 2008
American Journal of Epidemiology, doi:10.1093/aje/kwn132
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Original Contribution |
Epidemiology of Cytokines
The Women On the Move through Activity and Nutrition (WOMAN) Study
1 Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
2 Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
3 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Colchester, VT
Correspondence to Dr. Lewis H. Kuller, Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, 130 North Bellefield Avenue, Room 550, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (e-mail: kullerl{at}edc.pitt.edu).
Received for publication February 12, 2008. Accepted for publication April 21, 2008.
Using multiplex technology, the authors investigated the laboratory and biologic variation of a panel of cytokines (interleukin (IL)-1a, IL-1 receptor antagonist, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, interferon-inducible protein-10, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and tumor necrosis factor-
) over 18 months and their relations to cardiovascular disease risk factors, hormone therapy, and weight loss. Data were obtained from the Woman On the Move through Activity and Nutrition (WOMAN) Study, a randomized clinical trial investigating the effect of nonpharmacologic interventions on subclinical atherosclerosis among overweight, postmenopausal women in Pennsylvania. The present analysis (February 2002–August 2005) comprised 290 women aged 52–62 years (mean age = 57 years). Most of the cytokines were detectable in a majority of the samples, and the between-individual biologic variation was greater than the within-individual biologic and laboratory variation. There was little association between use of hormone therapy at baseline or change in hormone therapy by 18 months and cytokine levels. Weight loss was associated with a decrease in levels of IL-1 receptor antagonist, IL-6, and C-reactive protein. The results suggest that a wide panel of cytokines may be measured simultaneously from one sample. There is large unexplained variability in cytokine levels that is probably due to genetic-environmental associations.
cytokines; hormones; inflammation; obesity; weight loss; women
Abbreviations:
CV, coefficient of variation; HOMA-IR, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; IP-10, interferon-inducible protein-10; MCP-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; TNF-, tumor necrosis factor-; WOMAN, Women On the Move through Activity and Nutrition