Determination of asprosin levels and analysis of correlative relationships with carbohydrate metabolism indicators in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic pancreatitis

Objective — to investigate asprosin levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic pancreatitis (CP) and to analyze the correlations between asprosin levels and carbohydrate metabolism indicators in these patients. Materials and methods. The study was conducted on 100 patients treated at the Kharkiv Regional Clinical Hospital from 2020 to 2022. Patients were divided into two groups. The first group (n=30) included patients with type 2 DM, and the second group (n=70) comprised patients with comorbid type 2 DM and CP. The control group consisted of 20 healthy persons of comparable age. Diagnoses of CP and type 2 DM were established according to the approved protocols of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. Asprosin levels in the blood were determined using enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Fasting blood glucose and insulin concentrations were studied, and the HOMA‑IR index was calculated. Results. The obtained results showed statistically significant differences in the level of asprosin between the groups of patients and the control group. Patients with comorbid type 2 DM and CP had significantly higher asprosin levels (10.06±3.56 ng/ml) compared to those with type 2 DM alone (7.34±2.08 ng/ml) and the control group (2.81±1.34 ng/ml). Correlation analysis revealed moderate positive correlations between asprosin and insulin levels (r=0.41) and HOMA index (r=0.47) in patients with type 2 DM without CP. In patients with comorbid type 2 DM and CP, moderate correlations were observed between asprosin levels and insulin (r=0.52) and HOMA index (r=0.53). Conclusions. Asprosin is an important adipokine that influences the development of insulin resistance and inflammatory processes in type 2 DM and CP. The highest asprosin levels were observed in the group with comorbid type 2 DM and CP. Moderate positive correlations were established between asprosin levels and insulin levels, as well as the HOMA‑IR index in patients from both groups. This suggests asprosin as a potential target for therapeutic intervention in type 2 DM and its complications.