Serum Levels of Interleukin-36α and Interleukin-1α In Iraqi Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Abstract

This study aimed to estimate the serum levels of interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1α) and interleukin-36 alpha (IL-36α) in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and to examine their relationship with age and body mass index (BMI). A total number of collected specimens are 75, which were 45 patients and 30 healthy control women participated in this study from different private clinics in Baghdad/ Iraq, for the period starting December 2023 to February 2024. The age ranges for both patients and controls was 18–40 years, with mean ages of 25.60 ± 6.38 years for patients and 29.44 ± 11.61 years for controls. BMI was determined for all participants, revealing a statistically highly significant difference between the PCOS group (27.53 ± 4.72) and the control group (24.02 ± 2.84). The results showed significantly elevated levels of IL-1α (567.0 ± 59.0 pg/ml vs. 196.56 ± 21.56 pg/ml) and IL-36α (511.0 ± 99.4 ng/L vs. 175.82 ± 41.67 ng/L) in the PCOS group compared to the control group. A positive correlation was found between IL-1α and IL-36α. IL-36α was not significantly correlated with age or BMI, while IL-1α was not significantly correlated with age but showed a significant positive correlation with BMI (r = 0.356, P = 0.013). This suggests that the higher IL-1α levels may be partly associated with the higher BMI in the PCOS group and may not be due to PCOS alone. Furthermore, levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (PRL), and testosterone (T) were significantly elevated in women with PCOS.