IL6 and Hypertension: Therefore, we conducted a nested case-control study to investigate changes in inflammatory markers [hs-CRP, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and Lp-PLA2] with incident hypertension in a mean follow-up 2-year prospective cohort of 1,500 nondiabetic and normotensive healthy subjects aged 20 to 69 years.