Diabetes and obesity—cumulative or complementary effects on adipokines, inflammation, and insulin resistance

Abstract

Background: Diabetes and obesity are increasingly significant public health issues. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between adipocytokines (leptin, ghrelin, and chemerin), inflammation (sVCAM1—soluble vascular adhesion molecule 1, sICAM1—soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1), and insulin resistance in the presence of obesity and diabetes mellitus. Methods: 88 subjects, with a mean age of 61.96 ± 10.15 years, 75% of whom were women, were evaluated (in order to consider different associations between obesity and diabetes, subjects were categorized into four groups). Results: Overall, we found significant correlations between sICAM1-sVCAM1 rho = 0.426 and ghrelin-chemerin rho = −0.224. In the obesity + diabetes group, leptin correlated with sICAM1 rho = 0.786, and sVCAM1 negatively with glycemia/insulin rho = −0.85. Significant differences were found between the groups regarding sVCAM1 (p = 0.0134), leptin (p = 0.0265) and all insulin resistance scores, with differences influenced by the subjects’ gender. In conclusion, although there are currently many unknown aspects of the release and the role of various adipokines, in particular chemerin, its implication in early glucose metabolism dysregulation disorders seems very likely.