Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40045221›Full record

ArticleBMC infectious diseases2025

High nasopharyngeal and serum IL-6 levels and the - 573G > C polymorphism (rs1800796) are linked with the risk of severe COVID-19 in a Mexican population: a case‒control study.

Kirvis Torres-Poveda, Margarita Bahena-Román, Carla O Contreras-Ochoa, Alfredo Lagunas-Martínez, Víctor Hugo Bermúdez-Morales, Victoria Pando-Robles, Esmeralda Ortiz-Flores, Fabiola Cortés-Pedroza, María E Santana-Román, Cecilia Martínez-Campos and 7 more

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Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Kirvis Torres-PovedaCenter for Research on Infectious Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP), Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Margarita Bahena-RománCenter for Research on Infectious Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP), Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Carla O Contreras-OchoaCenter for Research on Infectious Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP), Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Alfredo Lagunas-MartínezCenter for Research on Infectious Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP), Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Víctor Hugo Bermúdez-MoralesCenter for Research on Infectious Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP), Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Victoria Pando-RoblesCenter for Research on Infectious Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP), Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Esmeralda Ortiz-FloresCenter for Research on Infectious Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP), Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Fabiola Cortés-PedrozaCenter for Research on Infectious Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP), Cuernavaca, Mexico.
María E Santana-RománCenter for Research on Infectious Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP), Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Cecilia Martínez-CamposCenter for Research on Infectious Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP), Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Miguel Sánchez-AlemánCenter for Research on Infectious Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP), Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Joaquin Manzo-MerinoFacultad de Ciencias Químicas, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico.
Ausencio Morales-OrtegaLaboratorio Estatal de Salud Pública. Health Services of the State of Morelos, Jiutepec, Mexico.
Daniel Alberto Madrid-GonzálezDirección General. Health Services of the State of Morelos, Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Marco Antonio Cantú-CuevasDirección General. Health Services of the State of Morelos, Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Héctor Barón-OlivaresDirección General de Coordinación y Supervisión. Health Services of the State of Morelos, Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Vicente Madrid-MarinaCenter for Research on Infectious Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP), Cuernavaca, Mexico. vmarina@insp.mx.

Funding

Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología F0005-2020-01 COVID-19, #313033
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCOVID-19 was the leading cause of death in Mexico between 2020 and 2021. SARS-CoV-2 infection varies widely among individuals and populations. Since variations in genes related to the immune response may play a role in the susceptibility to and outcome of COVID-19, the associations of gene polymorphisms (SNPs) of IL-6 (- 573G > C, rs1800796), TNF-α (- 308G > A, rs1800629), and IFN-γ (- 1615 C > T, rs2069705) with the expression levels of these proteins in the nasopharynx and serum were evaluated in a Mexican population with mild, severe, or critical COVID-19.

methodsA total of 560 COVID-19 patients (309 mild, 163 severe, and 88 critical cases) and 560 age- and sex-matched COVID-19-negative controls were recruited for this case‒control study. The selected SNPs were genotyped via allelic discrimination. Logistic regression analysis was conducted considering four models of inheritance, and ORs were determined for each genotypic variant, adjusting for associated comorbidities in the multivariate model. The nasopharyngeal mRNA expression levels of IL-6, IFN-γ and TNF-α were determined. The levels of IL-6, IFN-γ, IFN-α2, and TNF-α in the serum were quantified. Significant differences were assessed via the Wilcoxon Mann‒Whitney U test.

resultsThe C allele of the IL-6 - 573 SNP was associated with a greater risk of mild and severe COVID-19 (OR: 2.3, CI: 1.897-2.838, p = 0.0001; and OR: 1.5, CI: 1.167-1.949, p = 0.002, respectively), whereas the A allele of the TNF-α - 308 SNP and the T allele of the IFN-γ - 1615 SNP were shown protective roles against severe COVID-19 (OR: 0.3, CI: 0.189-0.537, p = 0.0001; and OR: 0.7, CI: 0.563-1.006, p = 0.05) and against critical COVID-19 (OR: 0.3, CI: 0.158-0.640, p = 0.001; and OR: 0.4, CI: 0.290-0.678, p = 0.0001), adjusting for diabetes and hypertension. Nasopharyngeal IL-6 expression levels were lower in mild COVID-19 patients (p = 0.001) than in critical patients (p = 0.005). Serum IL-6 levels were significantly elevated in the critical cases (p = 0.01).

conclusionsOur results revealed that the IL-6 - 573 G > C SNP and increased IL-6 nasopharyngeal and serum levels are associated with the risk of severe COVID-19 in a Mexican population.

Indexed as

COVID-19Interleukin-6NasopharynxPolymorphism, Single NucleotideAdultAgedCase-Control StudiesFemaleGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseGenotypeHumansInterferon-gammaMaleMexicoMiddle AgedSARS-CoV-2IL6 protein, humanInterferon-gammaInterleukin-6Tumor Necrosis Factor-alphaCOVID-19CytokinesGenetic susceptibilityInterleukin-6MexicoSingle nucleotide polymorphisms

Identifiers

PMID40045221
PMCPMC11884130

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.