IL-6 values in the blood of healthy donors vary between 0 and 43.5 pg/mL

Objectives:
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is produced by and impacts different cell types in human. IL-6 is associated with different diseases and viral infections including COVID-19. However, no normal values were reported for IL-6 in the blood of healthy individuals. Therefore, this review article has been conducted.

What are the normal values for IL-6 in the blood of healthy individuals?  

Study design:
This review article included 57 studies which included 3,166 values for IL-6.

Results and conclusions:   
The investigators found the reported values for IL-6 in the blood of healthy donors varied between 0 and 43.5 pg/mL.

The investigators found the pooled estimate of IL-6 was 5.186 pg/mL [95% CI = 4.63 to 5.740].

The investigators found as the age increased by one year, IL-6 values increased by 0.05 pg/mL [95% CI = 0.02 to 0.09, p 0.01].
Though the heterogenicity as determined by I2 statistics was high in this review article, the differences in IL-6 values are still at the level of a few pg/mL, which might be related to the differences in the conditions that influence IL-6 production in the healthy population.

The investigators concluded the IL-6 values in the blood of healthy donors vary between 0 and 43.5 pg/mL with a pooled estimate of 5.186 pg/mL.

Original title:
Defining IL-6 Levels in Healthy Individuals: A Meta-Analysis by Said EA, Al-Reesi I, […], Jeyaseelan L.

Link:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33155686/

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