IL6 and rheumatoid arthritis: In this study, we observed that systemic inflammation preceded RA disease establishment and elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1beta (p = 0.0042), IL-6 (p = 0.021), TNFα (p = 0.03) and CRP (p = 0.032) were higher in patients with arthralgia compared to healthy controls which was further elevated upon disease establishment.