The diabetic PAD patients group had higher HMGB-1 (7.89 ± 15.23 ng/mL), OPG (6.54 ± 7.76 pmol/L), HsCRP (15.6 ± 14.4 mg/L) and IL-6 (56.1 ± 28.6 pg/mL) compared to WPAD group (3.02 ± 8.12 ng/mL, P < 0.001; 2.98 ± 2.01 pmol/L, P < 0.001; 7.05 ± 4.4 mg/L, P < 0.001; 37.5 ± 20.2 pg/mL, P < 0.001 respectively) (Fig. 1). Here, IL6 is linked to peripheral arterial disease.