Circulating IL-6 and CRP Levels as Inflammatory Biomarkers in Obese Men with Hormonal Infertility
Author(s):
Bashaer Thabit Kamil(1) , Tamadhur Thabit Kamil(2) , Haneen husham abboodi(3), Zainab abdl baqi abdl jalel (4)
Date: 08/10/2026
doi: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8425890
Abstract
Background: Hormonal infertility is closely linked to obesity in males and is most likely to result due to
chronic low-grade inflammation mediated by adipose tissue-derived cytokines. The presence of
circulating IL-6 and CRP as the main inflammatory biomarkers that disorganize the hypothalamic
pituitary-gonadal axis and cause dysfunction of testosterone production and disturbed reproductive
activity. Aims of the study; This study seeks to examine the levels of the inflammatory biomarkers of
interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the obese men with hormonal infertility and analyze
their relations with the hormonal profiles and their body mass index (BMI) relative to the healthy control.
Methodology: The case-control study was carried out between February and September 2025 in two
hospitals in Nasiriyah, Iraq where 100 obese men with hormonal infertility and 50 healthy controls
participated in the study. The eligible patients were aged between 25 and 45 years and had a BMI of
30kg/m 2 and the controls were normal in weight and had no infertility. Blood samples had been gathered,
processed and stored to be analyzed. Hormonal evaluation was carried out by evaluating testosterone, LH,
FSH and prolactin by ELISA, IL-6 and CRP was done by ELISA and immunoturbidimetric assays.
Result: Of the 100 obese men in the study, the hormonal infertility of the men was compared to the control
of 50 healthy men. There were notable differences in BMI of patients (32.4 vs. 24.1, p<0.001), but no
difference was found in age, smoking, education and alcohol consumption. The levels of IL-6 and CRP
were significantly higher in patients (8.6 pg/mL and 6.8 mg/L) compared to controls (2.1 pg/mL and
1.2mg/l, p<0.001). The analysis of hormones showed that patients had low testosterone and high LH, FSH
and prolactin (p<0.01). Correlations revealed that there was inflammation that was attributed to obesity
and hormonal imbalance, and that the categories of obesity that differed significantly across groups.
Conclusions: This paper concludes that the obese men with hormonal infertility have high levels of IL-6
and CRP, low testosterone, and disturbed gonadotropins. These results indicate that obesity-induced
chronic inflammation interferes with the hypothalamic–pituitary-gonadal axis, which is the reason why
obesity leads to infertility by disrupting hormonal and immunological regulation.
Download Full Text