Relationship between serum ghrelin level and mild cognitive impairment in elderly type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Abstract

Objective To study the relationship between serum ghrelin level and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in elderly type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Methods Fifty-nine patients with T2DM, admitted to our hospital from May 2015 to August, 2017, were recruited; and according to patients with/without MCI, they were divided into T2DM+MCI group (n=28) and T2DM group (n=31); another 30 healthy controls were chosen. Serum ghrelin level was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Fasting plasma insulin (FINS), fasting blood glucose (FBG), hemoglobinA1c (HbA1c), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterin (LDL-C), systolic pressure (SBP), diastolic pressure blood pressure (DBP), height (H), weight (W), and body mass index (BMI) were calculated. Homeostasis model assessment was used to calculate the insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Results (1) The serum ghrelin level in T2DM+MCI group and T2DM group was significantly lower than that in control group ([14.3±3.2] μg/L and [17.4±2.5] μg/L vs. [20.2±2.2] μg/L, P<0.05); the serum ghrelin level in T2DM+MCI group was significantly lower than that in T2DM group (P<0.05). (2) Correlation analysis showed that ghrelin level was negatively correlated with FINS, BMI, W, HbA1c, and HOMA-IR (r=0.449, P=0.000; r=0.483, P=0.000;r=0.313, P=0.006; r=0.461, P=0.000; r=0.547, P=0.000) and positively correlated with TG (r=-0.261, P=0.015). (3) Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that ghrelin, HbA1c and HOMA-IR were risk factors in elderly T2DM patients complicated with MCI (β'=-1.051, P=0.006; β'=0.522, P=0.014; β'=0.862, P=0.018). Conclusion Ghrelin may play an important role in the pathogenesis of T2DM complicated with MCI. Key words: Ghrelin; Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Mild cognitive impairment