Assessment of Serum Asprosin Levels in Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
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Obesity is a common metabolic disorder associated with insulin resistance, chronic low grade inflammation and elevated cardiovascular risk, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is another metabolic disorder of insulin resistance. Recently Asporin has been identified as an adipokine which may play a role as a regulator of glucose metabolism and energy balance, but whose clinical relevance is not yet established. The purpose of this study was to assess the association of circulating asprosin concentration with anthropometric, metabolic and inflammatory parameters in obese people with T2DM. This case-control study was conducted in Tikrit Teaching Hospital, Tikrit, Iraq from May 2025 to April 2026. Participants ages 20 to 70 years were divided into four groups: healthy controls, obese non-diabetic, non-obese patients with T2DM, and obese patients with T2DM. Anthropometric data were recorded and blood samples were taken after an overnight fast for biochemical parameters, insulin and asprosin by ELISA. There are significantly higher concentrations of asprosin in all groups of patients than in healthy controls, with the highest concentration found in obese patients with T2DM (P < 0.001). Other measures of obesity, such as fasting glucose, HbA1c, insulin, HOMA-IR, inflammatory markers, triglycerides, TyG index, and lipid accumulation product were also significantly elevated in the diseased groups. The correlation analysis results revealed positive correlations between asprosin and obesity indices, glycemic variables, insulin resistance, triglycerides, leptin, hs-CRP, TyG index, and lipid accumulation product, and negative correlation between asprosin and adiponectin. The multiple regression model revealed that BMI, HbA1c, HOMA-IR and TyG index were independent factors for serum asprosin. The results indicate that the high level of asprosin is a good indicator of metabolic dysfunction and could be a potential target for therapy and biomarker in obesity-related T2DM. It's clinical usefulness needs further prospective studies to confirm.
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