IL6R and coronary artery disorder: Variants in the IL6R gene region have been shown to be associated with CRP (an inflammation marker) and with coronary heart disease risk [24], [25]; however, it is thought that interleukin-6 (an upstream marker of inflammation) pathways are causal for coronary heart disease and not CRP itself (as focused Mendelian randomization investigations using variants in the CRP gene region have suggested a null causal effect of CRP on coronary heart disease risk [26]).