Fatigue symptoms relate to systemic inflammation in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2012-11-01; 26(8): 1211-1219
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2012.03.003
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1. Brain Behav Immun. 2012 Nov;26(8):1211-9. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2012.03.003. Epub
2012 Mar 25.
Fatigue symptoms relate to systemic inflammation in patients with type 2
diabetes.
Lasselin J(1), Layé S, Dexpert S, Aubert A, Gonzalez C, Gin H, Capuron L.
Author information:
(1)INRA, Laboratory of Nutrition and Integrative Neurobiology (NutriNeuro), UMR
1286, F-33076 Bordeaux, France.
Fatigue is frequent in patients with diabetes and this symptom appears to be more
prominent in type 2 rather than type 1 diabetic subjects. Chronic inflammation
represents one characteristic of type 2 diabetes that may contribute to fatigue
symptoms. This possibility was assessed in a sample of 20 type 2 diabetic
patients relatively to a group of 20 type 1 diabetic subjects. Specific
dimensions of fatigue, including general fatigue, physical fatigue, reduced
activity, mental fatigue and reduced motivation, were assessed using the
Multidimensional-Fatigue-Inventory (MFI). Biological assays comprised the
measurement of serum inflammatory markers [high-sensitive C-reactive-protein
(hsCRP), high-sensitive interleukin-6 (hsIL-6), high-sensitive
tumor-necrosis-factor-α (hsTNF-α) and neopterin]. Clinical parameters including
indexes of adiposity were collected. In comparison to type 1 diabetic subjects,
patients with type 2 diabetes exhibited higher fatigue scores, notably in the
dimensions of general fatigue, physical fatigue and reduced activity, together
with greater levels of inflammatory markers that correlated with indexes of
adiposity. Regression analyses controlling for diabetes duration, insulin
treatment status, glycemic control and fasting status, indicated that levels of
inflammatory markers, in particular hsIL-6, hsCRP and neopterin, were associated
with MFI fatigue dimensions in type 2 diabetic patients. Mediation analyses
revealed that adiposity did not significantly account for the relationship of
inflammatory markers with fatigue scores albeit coefficient regressions decreased
somewhat when this variable was controlled for in regression models. These
findings indicate that systemic low-grade inflammation relates to fatigue
symptoms in patients with type 2 diabetes and suggest the involvement of
inflammatory processes in the pathophysiology of diabetes-related fatigue.
Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2012.03.003
PMID: 22469909 [Indexed for MEDLINE]