Association between Serum Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 and Presence of Allostatic Load among Industrial Workers

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) mediates metabolic changes and chronic stress. Allostatic load (AL) is an imbalance between repetitive exposure to stress and adaptive response. This study examined the association between FGF21 and the presence of AL among industrial workers. METHODS: The study is cross-sectional and observational. Parameters data were collected from 169 male industrial workers. AL was assessed using neuroendocrine (cortisol and Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate), cardiovascular (systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate), metabolic (total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol), and anthropometric (waist-hip ratio and body mass index) measurements. Serum FGF21 was analyzed using the ELISA method. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: The results of the study showed that 43.2% and 56.8% of workers had low and high AL, respectively. Serum (natural logarithm) Ln-FGF21 was significantly elevated in workers with high AL when compared to moderate and low AL. The association between serum FGF21 and AL was analyzed using the linear regression model. The model indicated that age (β = 0.143, P = 0.038) and serum FGF21 (β = 0.162, P = 0.045) were significantly associated with AL. In high AL condition, the receiver operating characteristic area under the curve for Ln-FGF21: 0.656 (95% confidence interval: 0.570–0.742, P = 0.001) was found to be higher as compared to moderate and low AL. CONCLUSIONS: FGF21 was significantly increased in high AL conditions when compared to low and moderate AL among workers. Therefore, we recommended that FGF21 could be used as a potential biomarker to screen and protect strategy against high AL.