Evaluating Multifactorial Contributors to Metabolic Syndrome in Western Mexico: The Role of Metabolic Age, Lifestyle, and IL32 rs45499297 Polymorphism

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is characterized by a cluster of metabolic disorders that induce a state of chronic inflammation with multifactorial etiology. IL-32 is a cytokine associated with inflammatory conditions. The rs45499297 is a T/C promoter single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the IL32 gene, which may alter the production and activity of this cytokine. OBJECTIVES: This study examined the rs45499297 SNP and its association with MS. Another aim was to evaluate serum levels of IL-32 protein and food intake quality through Mini-ECCA evaluation and anthropometric measurements in participants with and without MS. METHODS: We conducted an analytical cross-sectional study. One hundred ninety-one subjects were analyzed. The serum levels of IL-32 protein were measured using the ELISA technique, and the rs45499297 SNP was analyzed using PCR-RFLP. Anthropometric measurements were determined using a TANITA bio-analyzer. We used a mini-survey to evaluate the quality of food intake. RESULTS: A total of 49 subjects (25.6%) presented MS according to the harmonized definition. IL-32 serum levels were lower in subjects with MS (p = 0.026). The metabolic age was higher in MS subjects (p<0.001). Logistic regression was used to assess the association between MS and metabolic age, and an ROC curve analysis was performed (p < 0.001). There was no significant association between rs45499297 and susceptibility to MS (p > 0.05). DISCUSSION: Participants in the MS group exhibited lower serum levels of IL-32 and higher metabolic age. A significant association was identified between metabolic age and MS, while rs45499297 was not found to be associated with MS risk. Future studies should investigate the role of IL-32, validate metabolic age as a biomarker, and explore other genetic markers for MS. CONCLUSION: Although no susceptibility to MS with the analyzed SNP was found, we must not discard the possibility that this or other SNPs are associated with MS or other metabolic diseases. On the other hand, metabolic age could be used as a predictor for MS.