Association of appetite hormone levels with HbA1c in obese type-2 diabetes mellitus patients

Background: Nesfatin-1 and leptin are hormones that control appetite and affect glycemic control. Nesfatin-1 and leptin levels are affected by body mass index (BMI). Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is an objective parameter to assess long-term glycemic control. This present research aims to know the relationship between levels of nesfatin-1 and leptin with HbA1c values as an indicator of long-term objective glycemic control in patients with T2DM with obesity. Methods: Cross-sectional study on 54 obese T2DM subjects. Measurement of nesfatin-1 and leptin levels using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. The value of HbA1c was measured by the fluorescent immunoassay (FIA) method. The correlation between nesfatin-1 and leptin with Hb1c was tested using the Spearman correlation analysis test (p <0.05 was considered significant). Results: The median value of nesfatin-1 levels was 1,824.0 (134.0-5,255.0) pg/mL, the median value of leptin levels was 14.0 (0.4 - 66.4) ng/mL, and the median value of HbA1c was 7.70 (4.9-15.0)%. There is no correlation between nesfatin-1 levels and HbA1c values (p = 0.282 and r = 0.149). There is no correlation between leptin levels and HbA1c values (p value = 0.895 and r = 0.018). Conclusion: HbA1c levels are not associated with an increased appetite, as evidenced by no association between appetite biomarkers and glycemic control.