@2024 Afarand., IRAN

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ISSN: 2383-3483    Journal of Police Medicine 2018;7(4):161-165

Background
Obesity is one of the major concerns, which has been rapidly increasing in recent years. … [1-6]. Visfatin is secreted from several tissues and organs, such as the brain, kidneys, lungs, spleen, testicles [7] and cartilage [8], however it is mainly released from the visceral adipose tissue (VAT) [7, 9].
Previous Studies
… [10, 11]. It has been shown that visfatin plays an important role in glucose homeostasis [12]. It binds to insulin receptors (not in the insulin site) [7, 12], therefore there is no interaction in binding [13]. … [14]. Although several studies have shown that visfatin is associated with fasting blood sugar (FBS), insulin sensitivity, VAT, body mass index (BMI), and triglyceride levels [15], as well as its contribution to the development of obesity and insulin resistance as an inflammatory protein has reported, its exact role in obesity and metabolic complications is still unknown [16]. It has been demonstrated that visfatin is associated with obesity in some populations [10], and it is regarded as a marker for BMI, waist circumference, and obesity, which can be used to prevent and treat obesity [14].
Aim(s)
The aim of this study was to determine visfatin serum concentration in overweight/obese subjects and its correlation with obesity and insulin resistance.
Research type
The present study is a case-control research.
Research society, place and time
This study was done from November 2016 to May 2017 on 173 subjects who referred to the Military Hospital in Tehran.
Sampling method and number
Sampling was done based on the sample size estimation formula. Inclusion criteria were considered as follows: the subjects aged over 18 years, triglyceride less than 400 mg/dL, lack of cardiovascular disease and hypertension, no use of metabolic agents (since they affect Adipokines levels) [17]. In order to observe ethical principles, the participants were informed about the research and its objectives and after obtaining the consent, anthropometric indices such as height, weight, and BMI were first determined.
Used devices&materials
Seca digital weight scale having 0.1 kg precision was used to measure participants’ weight and Seca height gauge having 0.5 cm precision was used to measure participants’ height (without shoes). BMI was obtained by dividing the weight (kg) into height (m2) [3]. To evaluate metabolic variables, 5 ml of the peripheral blood samples were taken from subjects (12-14 h fast) to prepare serum. The samples poured into a non-anticoagulant tube and after blood clotting, they centrifuged for 5 min at the room temperature (10 min, 3000rpm), and the serum was separated. The serum was used to check biochemical parameters. All biochemical variables were measured at Tehran Military Hospital. FBS was measured by the auto-analyzer apparatus, glucose oxidase assay, and Pars Azmoon kits (Iran) [18]. Visfatin and insulin were calculated by Mercodia ELISA kit (Sweden) and the insulin resistance was measured according to the following formula: Homa-IR: Fasting serum glucose (mmol /lit) × Fasting serum insulin (microunit /lit) / 22.5 Data was analyzed by SPSS 19. Normality of the quantitative factors was assessed using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. After checking the normality, independent t-test was used to compare the variables between the two groups; otherwise, the Mann-Whitney test was used. Spearman correlation coefficient was used to determine the correlation between visfatin and clinical and anthropometric variables.
Findings by Text
In the present study, 173 subjects had inclusion criteria, of whom 80 subjects were normal and 93 were overweight or obese. Of the participants, 30 women (32.3%) and 63 men (67.7%) with BMI≥ 25 were assigned into the case group, and 52 women (65%) and 28 men (35%) with BMI<25 assigned into the control group. There was no significant difference in the mean age of the two groups, but there was a significant difference in BMI, FBS, insulin, HOMA-IR, and visfatin (Table 1).There was no significant correlation between visfatin and other variables in the control group, whereas there was a significant correlation between visfatin and BMI and FBS in subjects with BMI≥25 (p<0.05). There was a correlation between visfatin and insulin in the case group, but it was not significant (p = 0.05; Table 2).
Main comparison to the similar studies
It has been indicated that visfatin levels are associated with abdominal obesity and it can increase significantly in obese children [9] and obese adults compared with normal people [8, 9, 11, 15, 19], which is consistent with the results of this study. In the present study, there was a significant correlation between visfatin and BMI and FBS in obese subjects. A significant correlation has also been reported between visfatin levels and BMI [8, 9, 12], glucose tolerance disorders [19], serum insulin levels, and HOMAIR [8] in obese diabetic patients. … [20-22]. No correlation has been found between viscfatin and insulin resistance in the studies by Pagano et al. [23], Dogru et al. [24], and other investigations [9], which is consistent with the results of this study. In this study, there was a significant correlation between visfatin and FBS in obese participants, whereas in many studies, including Dogru et al. [24] and Pagano et al. [23], and Berndt et al. [22], no correlation have found between visfatin and FBS [9, 10, 21, 22, 24, 25].
Suggestions
It is suggested to study Visfatin genetic polymorphism.
Limitations
A cross-sectional research, the lack of homogeneity of the samples (age and sex), and the small sample size were limitations of this study.
Conclusions
Visfatin is associated with BMI and impaired metabolism glucose, but not with insulin resistance.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the participants who helped us at Military Hospital in Tehran.
Conflict of interest
None declared.
Ethical Permissions
All essential permissions were obtained. The ethical code has been approved at the Medical Faculty of the Azad University. The registration code is IR.IAU.TMU.REC.1396.271.
Funding Sources
The study is based on the Masters dissertation. The financial resources of this article are provided by the researcher.

TABLES and CHARTS

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