Association between plasma irisin and impaired glucose regulation among Chinese young men: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Objective: To investigate the association between plasma irisin and impaired glucose regulation (IGR) among Chinese young men. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 86 Chinese male subjects, aged 18-45 years, who visited the First Hospital of Qinhuangdao (Hebei, China) in 2017 for annual health check-up. Anthropometric measurements, including height, weight and waist circumference (WC) were performed. All patients underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) after 8 hours of fasting, and the levels of glucose, insulin, lipids and serum irisin were measured. Participants were categorized into: normal glucose tolerance (NGT) [fasting plasma glucose (FPG)＜5.6 mmol/L, and 2-h plasma glucose (2hPG) ＜7.8 mmol/L after a 75-g OGTT]; IGR[impaired fasting glucose (IFG) ( 5.6mmol/l ≤FPG＜7.0 mmol/L, and 2hPG＜7.8 mmol/L ) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) (FPG＜5.6 mmol/L, and 7.8 mmol/l ≤2hPG＜11.1 mmol/L]. Results: Subjects in the IGR group had higher body mass index (BMI), WC, FPG, 2hPG and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C) than subjects in the NGT group (P < 0.05). The levels of serum irisin (4.43 ± 1.44 vs. 6.25 ± 1.46 µg/mL) were significantly lower in the IGR group (P<0.05). The prevalence of obesity (42.2% vs. 65.9%), abdominal obesity (66.7% vs. 85.4%), high levels of triglyceride(22.2% vs. 41.5%), low levels of HDL-C (8.9% vs. 41.5%) and low levels of irisin (26.7% vs. 75.6%) was significantly higher among cases in the IGR group (P <0.05). A multiple logistic regression showed that irisin (OR=0.110, P= 0.000) and HOMA-IR (OR=5.586, P = 0.011) were independent risk factors for predicting IGR. Conclusions: Serum irisin levels were reduced in Chinese young men with IGR. Reduced irisin may increase the occurrence of IGR. It suggested that irisin may predict the occurrence of impaired glucose homeostasis and should be examined in future studies.