The effect of serum activated ghrelin hormone on glycemic control in the diabetic patients with excessive body mass index

Objective: In the literature, plasma ghrelin level was found to be lower in patients with obesity or diabetes in a few studies. However, there is no study comparing ghrelin level in non-diabetic and diabetic patients with overweight or obesity. We have two aims in this study; first to show whether plasma ghrelin levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with excessive body mass index (BMI) decrease the level of a cumulative ghrelin which we expect in both diabetes-related and obesity-related conditions, secondly to study whether there is a correlation between ghrelin level and diabetes complications. Patients and Methods: Ethics committee decision and written informed consent from patients were received before the study. 57 BMI≥25 type 2 diabetic patients treated and followed up in the diabetic outpatient clinic and 25 BMI≥25 subjects without diabetes mellitus (control group) were included in this case-control study. Pregnant women, patients with malignancy and under 18 years old were excluded. The results were evaluated by the SPSS statistical program. Results: The ghrelin and BMI values of the diabetic patients with excessive BMI and the non-diabetic patients with excessive BMI were not statistically different. No statistical significant correlation between ghrelin and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1C), BMI, retinopathy, neuropathy, albuminuria, and macrovascular complications was found in the type 2 diabetic patients with overweight or obesity. Conclusion: The presence of diabetes in addition to patients with excessive BMI does not cause ghrelin levels to decrease more than expected.