Serum resistin a biomarker of type II diabetes development

Background: Resistin and ghrelin are hormones that have roles in the glucose and lipid homeostasis and weight regulation. Human studies regarding resistin and ghrelin in diabetic patients are scarce, especially in the cases of normotensive and non-obese patients. This study was designed to illuminate some of the missing points. Methods: Eighty diabetic patients and eighty healthy individuals participated in this study; according to the inclusion criteria [age, gender, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP) and diabetes type]. Fasting and postprandial glucose, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), insulin, acylated-ghrelin and resistin were evaluated for all the participants while HOMA and QUICKI were calculated. Results: Fasting and postprandial glucose, HbA1c, insulin and calculated HOMA increased, while QVICKI decreased among the diabetic patients (p<0.001). All patients also had reduced acylated-ghrelin that was more predominant among type I cases (p<0.001), while resistin was significantly reduced among the female patients (p<0.001). Furthermore, a significant negative correlation between circulating insulin and resistin of older healthy subjects [female (R=-0.72, p<0.001) and male (R=-0.59, p<0.01)] was detected which was absent for the patient groups. Conclusion: None of the diabetes indicators correlated with the circulating ghrelin or resistin that may indicate reductions in the results of protective phenomena due to excess glucose, increase insulin, or high circulating lipids usually observed among the diabetic patients. On the other hand, a strong negative correlation between the insulin and resistin among the older (38-55 years) healthy individuals that indicate the rise of resistin can be a sign of initiation of type II diabetes.