Circulating Myonectin and Irisin Levels in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus - A Case-control Study

Objective The objective of this study was to assess the levels of serum myonectin and irisin in pregnant women with and without gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Method A total of 80 pregnant women participated in our study (which consisted of 40 patients with GDM, 40 participants as the control group). Myonectin and irisin levels were analyzed through the ELISA technique, in addition to metabolic parameters in the serum samples of the participants. Results It was found that the levels of irisin and myonectin were lower in the GDM group compared to the control group. Moreover, it was determined that the values of age (p < 0.001), body mass index (p = 0.001), gravida (p = 0.001), parity (p = 0.016), fasting serum glucose (p = 0.001), fasting serum insulin (p = 0.007), postprandial serum glucose (p = 0.006), HbA1c (p < 0.001), HOMA-IR (p < 0.001) were higher; HDL cholesterol (p < 0.001) was lower. Insulin resistance was significantly higher in the GDM group. Conclusions Levels of myonectin and irisin were determined to be low in the GDM group. Our results have demonstrated that myonectin and irisin could play a role in the development of GDM and that irisin as well as myonectin could be a novel biomarker for GDM.