Inflammatory biomarkers in serum in subjects with and without work related neck/shoulder complaints

Table 2 Cytokine¹ (in pg/mL) and CRP (in mg/L) levels in subjects with work-related musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) and controls, given as median, 25 ^th and 75 ^th percentile

	Subjects with MSD (N=35)	Controls (N=25)	Crude p-value	Adjusted p-value³
IL-1β	0.58 (0.26-0.90)	0.53 (0.26-0.62)	0.22	0.21
IL-6	0.82 (0.15-1.8)	0.50 (0.15-1.1)	0.14	0.19
IL-8	5.7 (3.8-8.1)	5.3 (3.9-7.0)	0.85	0.85
IL-10	1.0 (0.84-2.4)	0.93 (0.76-1.6)	0.17	0.13
IL-12	0.26 (0.26-0.26)	0.26 (0.26-0.26)	0.047	0.05
MCP-1	27 (20-40)	29 (22-38)	0.38	0.38
MIP-1α	0.16 (0.16-2.2)	0.16 (0.16-0.1)6	0.07	0.08
MIP-1β	90 (63-110)	73 (55-88)	0.02	0.02
TNF-α	3.1 (1.8-5.1)	3.2 (2.4-3.8)	0.81	0.65
CTGF	244 (67-420)	67 (67-350)	0.63	0.78
CRP⁴	0.50 (0.50-1.6)	0.50 (0.50-0.50)	0.003	0.02

P-values from T-tests².
Results in bold face are statistically significant.
¹IL-1α and GM-CSF were not detectable in the serum of any subject and are therefore not shown in the table.
²p-values calculated using values transformed according to the natural logarithm.
³Adjusted for age and BMI.
⁴CRP value from one individual is missing due to technical errors.

ISSN: 1471-2474