Serum irisin as a Novel Biomarker in Diabetic Retinopathy: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to evaluate irisin as a novel biomarker for Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) by measuring serum irisin levels in patients with DR, patients without DR, and a control group. Additionally, it aims to determine serum irisin levels across the clinical stages of DR and to investigate their relationship with disease severity.

Methods: The study comprised 240 participants.Participants were divided into three major groups: 80 patients with DR, 80 patients without DR, and 80 in the control group.The subdivided DR group was divided into four stages (n = 20 per stage). Standard procedures and techniques were used to measure serum irisin, lipid profile, fasting blood sugar (FBS), and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), and the data were analysed statistically.

Results: The primary result serum irisin levels were significantly lower (69.68 ± 19.77 ng/ml) in patients with DR than in patients without DR and in the control group (82.17 ± 9.24 ng/ml) (120.66 ± 24.07 ng/ml), respectively, with a highly significant difference (p < 0.001).The study’s further subgroup analysis within the DR group shows that irisin levels exhibit highly significant differences (p < 0.001), with a gradual decline across the clinical stages of DR. Irisin is negatively correlated with FBS, HbA1c, Triglycerides,Very Low-Density Lipoprotein, and duration of diabetes mellitus.ROC analysis showed that serum irisin discriminated between DR and non-DR patients, with an AUC of 0.83.

Conclusion: The present study findings concluded that irisin levels were significantly lower in patients with DR. Additionally, irisin levels decreased across the clinical stages of diabetic retinopathy