Correlation between manual muscle strength and interleukin-6 (IL-6) plasma levels in elderly community-dwelling women

Sarcopenia is a loss of muscle mass related to aging and leads to muscle performance decline. An increase in inflammatory mediator levels, especially of IL-6, has been associated to reduced muscle strength in the elderly. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to correlate IL-6 plasma levels with manual muscle strength (MMS) in 63 community-dwelling elderly women. (71.2 ± 7.4 years). IL-6 was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and MMS was measured using the JAMAR dynamometer. Pearson's test was used to explore the relationship between the outcomes at the significance level of α = 0.05. IL-6 levels (2.56 ± 3.44 pg/ml) and MMS (22.86 ± 4.62 kgf) exhibited an inverse correlation (r = −0.2673 and p = 0.0373). The increase in IL-6 plasma levels possibly contributed toward the reduction in manual muscle strength among the elderly women studied.