Relationship of betatrophin with youth onset type 2 diabetes among Asian Indians.

Background And Aims: Betatrophin is emerging as a marker for compensatory beta cell proliferation. While betatrophin has been mainly investigated in adults, there is a lack of data on betatrophin levels in youth-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM-Y). The aim of this study was to determine levels of betatrophin and its association with T2DM-Y in Asian Indian participants.

Methods: We recruited 100 individuals with normal glucose tolerance (NGT; n=50) and newly-diagnosed cases (within 18 months of first diagnosis) of T2DM-Y (n=50) with onset between 12 and 24 years of age from a large tertiary diabetes center in Chennai in southern India. Insulin resistance was measured by homeostatic model (HOMA-IR) and insulin secretion by oral disposition index (DIO). Betatrophin levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results: Betatrophin levels were significantly lower in the T2DM-Y group compared with the NGT group (803 vs 1104 pg/ml, p<0.001). Betatrophin showed a significant inverse correlation with waist circumference (p=0.035), HOMA-IR (p<0.001), fasting and 2 h postprandial glucose (p<0.01), glycated hemoglobin (p=0.019) and a positive correlation with fasting C-peptide (p<0.001) and DIO (p=0.012). In regression analysis, betatrophin was independently associated with T2DM-Y even after adjustment for age, gender, and waist circumference (OR per standard deviation: 0.562, 95% CI: 0.342-0.899, p=0.019). However, the association was lost when HOMA-IR was included in the model (OR: 1.141, 95% CI: 0.574-2.249; p=0.646).

Conclusion: Betatrophin levels are lower in T2DM-Y and this association is likely mediated through insulin resistance.