The association of oxidative stress with serum irisin and betatrophin in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus

Background. Irisin and betatrophin are polypeptide hormones implicated in glucose metabolism and insulin resistance (IR). Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is accompanied by oxidative stress (OS) and the association between circulating irisin and betatrophin levels and GDM is controversial. The present study aimed to investigate the association of second-trimester irisin, betatrophin concentrations and their correlations between serum OS markers in GDM patients. Methods. The study included 45 GDM patients and 45-age matched pregnant women as controls. Serum fasting glucose, HOMA-IR, ischemia modified albumin (IMA), total oxidative stress (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), oxidative stress index (OSI), irisin and betatrophin were measured. Results. Serum irisin levels were decreased and TOS and OSI levels were found to be increased in the patient group. No significant difference was found with respect to serum betatrophin and IMA levels between study groups. A correlation analysis revealed no correlation between serum irisin and other assessed variables. Conclusions. Gestational diabetes mellitus is an OS condition in addition to being a metabolic disease. Although not correlated with OS, irisin but not betatrophin may be a useful biomarker to predict GDM.