Association of Subclinical Inflammation With Polyneuropathy in the Older Population

OBJECTIVEdInflammatory processes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic distal sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN), but their possible relationship has not been assessed at the population level. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSdWe determined serum concentrations of mediators of subclinical inflammation among 1,047 participants 61–82 years of age from the population-based Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg (KORA) F4 study (Germany). Logistic and linear regression models were fitted to assess associations between immune mediators (log-transformed) and the presence of clinical DSPN (dichoto-mous variable) or Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument (MNSI) examination score (continuous variable), respectively. RESULTSdSerum concentrations of the anti-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-1 receptor antag-onist (IL-1RA) were positively associated with the presence of DSPN and higher MNSI scores in age-adjusted and sex-adjusted analyses, whereas IL-6, IL-18, and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 were positively associated with only MNSI scores. No associations were observed for adiponectin, C-reactive protein, or tumor necrosis factor-a. Associations for IL-1RA and IL-