Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 1735-1502 0 0 2026 07 20 1 10 Javad Poursamimi Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran Shima Mohammadkhani Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran Yahya Ehsanollahi Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran Marzieh Poursamimi Department of Humanities, National University of Skills (NUS), Gorgan, Iran Elahe Haghighat-Manesh Department of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, 2026 05 02 2026 06 11 Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a disabling complication of type 2 diabetes, associated with neuropathic pain and reduced quality of life (QoL). Inflammation is implicated in DPN pathogenesis. We investigated associations between inflammatory markers, including C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and QoL in DPN patients in Eastern Iran. One hundred seventeen type 2 diabetic patients from two from two Zabol hospitals/clinics were enrolled. QoL was assessed using WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire, and neuropathy was evaluated using Michigan neuropathy screening instrument (MNSI). Serum CRP and IL-6 levels were measured. Analyses included t-tests, analysis of variance, and linear regression in SPSS. The prevalence of DPN among patients was 56.4%. Patients with DPN exhibited higher levels of CRP (mean: 4.2±1.8 mg/L) and IL-6 (mean: 5.6±2.1 pg/mL) compared with the non-neuropathic group. Additionally, QoL, particularly in the physical domain, was significantly lower in patients with higher levels of these inflammatory markers. However, multiple linear regression analysis after adjusting for confounding variables (including age, sex, BMI, diabetes duration, and HbA1c) revealed that neither CRP, IL-6, nor BMI were independently associated with QoL in the final model. The overall regression model was not statistically significant, indicating that the measured variables collectively explained only a small fraction of QoL variance. In univariate analysis, elevated CRP and IL-6 correlated with poorer QoL in neuropathic patients, but these associations did not remain significant after adjusting for confounders. Our findings highlight the need for further research incorporating unmeasured factors, such as pain severity, depression, and medication use, to better understand determinants of QoL in this population. https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/view/4819 https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/download/4819/2371