Objective: Resistin has been linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, inflammation and atherosclerosis but the results of animal and human studies have been at variance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential roles of resistin in patients with type 2 diabetes and to evaluate the correlation between resistin and markers of obesity, inflammation, insulin resistance, metabolic parameters, diabetes control and complications.
Material and methods: Fasting resistin, leptin, insulin, glucose, HbA1c, full lipid profile, C-reactive protein (CRP) (high sensitivity assay) and complete blood count were determined in 135 patients with type 2 diabetes. Univariate regression and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to relate resistin with indices of obesity, inflammation, insulin resistance (homeostasis model, HOMA), insulin sensitivity, diabetic control, coronary heart disease (CHD) and degree of microalbuminuria.
Results: Resistin showed significant (p<0.05) correlations with body mass index (BMI) "(Spearman r=0.67), waist circumference (r=0.54), fasting insulin (0.51), insulin sensitivity (r=-0.29), HOMA (r=0.30), leptin (r=0.39), CRP (r=0.29), white cell count (r=0.25) and lipid parameters but showed no significant correlation with glucose and HbA1c. Partial correlation analysis, with correction for BMI, abolished the correlation of resistin with insulin sensitivity and HOMA but not with the white cell count. When confounding factors were fixed using multiple logistic regression, resistin was not independently associated with CHD (odds ratio=1.05, p=0.08) and degree of microalbuminuria (odds ratio=1.06, p=0.24).
Conclusions: Resistin showed significant BMI-dependent associations with insulin resistance and factors linked with obesity and inflammation in patients with type 2 diabetes. Resistin may represent a link between obesity and insulin resistance via pro-inflammatory pathways.