Previous reports have shown that the Asp358Ala (T/G) polymorphism of the interleukin 6 receptor (IL6R) gene is associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus, but few studies have examined this association in the Japanese population.
No variant was associated with obesity or measures of insulin sensitivity, but two single nucleotide polymorphisms in the 3' untranslated region showed a trend to an association with T2DM in all Caucasians, and three single nucleotide polymorphisms, including D358A, showed a trend (P < 0.06) to an association with T2DM among the subset of Northern European Caucasians.