Association of serum tumour necrosis factor-alpha with serum low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and blood pressure in apparently healthy Japanese women.

SUMMARY 1. The pro-inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α is considered to be involved in the development of atherosclerosis by inducing local inflammatory responses in the vascular wall. Because TNF-α is also known to affect lipid and glucose metabolism, the association between the circulating concentration of TNF-α and atherogenic risk factors was examined in 82 apparently healthy Japanese women (aged 19–69 years; mean age 48.5 years). 2. The mean (±SD) serum TNF-α concentration was 2.7±0.9 pg/mL (range 1.4–5.9 pg/mL). The TNF-α concentration showed significant correlations with age (r = 0.28; P = 0.01), body mass index (r = 0.27; P = 0.01), the waist–hip ratio (r = 0.41; P = 0.0002), percentage body fat (r = 0.30; P = 0.006), systolic (r = 0.32; P = 0.004) and diastolic (r = 0.24; P = 0.03) blood pressure, total cholesterol (r = 0.27; P = 0.02) and low- density lipoprotein–cholesterol (LDL-C; r = 0.36; P = 0.001), while the correlations with high-density lipoprotein–cholesterol (r = –0.20; P = 0.08) and insulin resistance estimated by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMAIR; r = 0.16; P = 0.15) were not statistically significant. 3. When adjusted for age and menopause, TNF-α was significantly associated with systolic blood pressure (r = 0.25; P = 0.02) and LDL-C (r = 0.27; P = 0.02). The association between TNF-α and LDL-C remained significant when adjustment was made for age, menopause and the waist–hip ratio (r = 0.24; P = 0.03). 4. Our results indicate that TNF-α may play a role in modulating blood pressure and LDL-C.