The Association of Impaired Fasting Glucose and Serum Fibroblast Growth Factor-21 (FGF-21)

Abstract

Prediabetes includes impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and there is a strong probability that prediabetes will lead to diabetes mellitus (DM). Serum fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) is known to increase as a compensatory response to metabolic imbalance under conditions such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and DM. This study aimed to identify the relationship of serum FGF-21 to prediabetes and to biomarkers of related metabolic diseases. Three hundred five Korean adult patients participated in a cohort study from June 2012 to December 2015. Study subjects comprised of those with normal glucose tolerance(n=165), prediabetes(IFG, IGT, n=87) and type 2 diabetes(n=54). The biochemical parameters were analyzed using auto-analyzer, and the level of FGF-21 was estimated using an ELISA kit. The analysis revealed that FGF-21 levels were significantly higher in the Prediabetes group compared to those in the normal group(193.94±10.62, 343.49±60.94)(P=0.004). One-way ANCOVA was conducted on the correlations between serum FGF-21 levels and other parameters, dyslipidemia(F=7.428, P=0.007), HbA1c(F=11.874, P=0.001) was show statistical significance.