Investigation of Serum Visfatin and Chemerin Levels in Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity Patients: Their Potential Role as Clinical and Biomarkers
Duygu Tozcu, Mehmet Ali Gül, Mustafa Çapraz, hatice dörtok demir, Akın Tekcan
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The global prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been steadily increasing, and these interrelated disorders share common pathophysiological mechanisms, including altered levels of adipokines secreted from adipose tissue. Among these, chemerin and visfatin have been suggested as potential biomarkers for obesity-related metabolic dysfunction. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum chemerin and visfatin levels and obesity in patients with T2DM. Methods: The study included 74 obese T2DM patients, 60 non-obese T2DM patients, and 36 healthy controls. Serum chemerin and visfatin levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Clinical parameters including HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose, insulin, and Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) were assessed. Between-group comparisons were performed using appropriate parametric or non-parametric tests with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. ROC curve analysis was applied to evaluate the diagnostic performance of visfatin. Results: Serum visfatin levels were significantly higher in the T2DM (33.00 ± 20.61) groups compared to controls (30.25 ± 26.40; p = 0.01), while chemerin levels showed no significant difference. HbA1c and glucose levels were elevated in both diabetic groups, whereas insulin and HOMA-IR were significantly higher only in the obese T2DM group. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed limited diagnostic accuracy of visfatin (AUC < 0.70). Conclusions: Visfatin levels were modestly higher in obese T2DM patients, while chemerin did not differ significantly among groups. However, the diagnostic performance of visfatin was limited (AUC < 0.70), and these findings should be regarded as exploratory. Larger, well-controlled studies are required to clarify whether visfatin or chemerin could have any clinical utility as part of multi-marker approaches.