IL6 and Obesity: These observations suggest that IL-6 may play a key role in disease pathogenesis in asthma and obesity-associated asthma (23, 24) Interestingly, established components of metabolic syndrome, like impaired glucose tolerance, increased fasting serum triglycerides, and low high-density lipoprotein levels, are also associated with increased plasma IL-6, raising speculative concerns of increased cardiovascular risk in asthma [24, 25].