Abstract:

Objective   To investigate the relationship between fasting serum ghrelin level, body composition, abdominal fat distribution and leptin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM). Methods   40 newly diagnosed T2DM patients and 35 controls were measured for waist circumference, blood pressure, blood glucose, serum lipids, leptin, insulin, ghrelin and HOMA-IR. The body composition and the abdominal fat distribution were measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis and spiral CT. Correlation was analyzed between ghrelin levels and other indexes. Results   Fasting serum ghrelin levels of the T2DM patients were lower than those of the controls (P<0.01). In the T2DM patients the serum ghrelin levels were positively associated with the leptin levels(r=0.431, P<0.05), and negatively associated with abdominal visceral fat volume(r=-0.782, P<0.01). But there was no relationship between total fat mass and the ghrelin level. Serum ghrelins of female patients were higher than those of male patients(P＝0.011). Conclusion   In TDM patients fasting serum ghrelin level was negatively correlated with abdominal visceral fat volume, which suggests that the reduction of the ghrelin level may be associated with abdominal obesity and T2DM.

Key words: Diabetes mellitus, type 2； Ghrelin; Body composition； Obesity