Association between serum visfatin levels and atherosclerotic plaque in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background: Visfatin is a multifaceted protein that plays an important role in regulating a variety of physiological and pathological processes, including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, circulating visfatin levels in atherosclerosis plaque progression in patients with type 2 diabetes, or its association with the vascular territory affected remain unclear.

Methods: We evaluated the relationship between visfatin levels and carotid or femoral artery atherosclerosis in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. Serum levels of visfatin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 97 inpatients with type 2 diabetes. Carotid and/or femoral atherosclerotic plaques were detected by B-mode ultrasound.

Results: Serum visfatin levels were elevated in the group with atherosclerotic plaques compared to the control group without plaques [0.68 (0.46-1.58) versus 0.45 (0.23-0.76) ng/mL, respectively, = 0.0002]. Patients with carotid plaques showed higher visfatin levels than those with or without femoral plaques. Pearson's correlation analysis showed that serum visfatin levels were positively correlated with waist circumference ( = 0.226, = 0.029), waist-hip ratio ( = 0.221, = 0.032), TG ( = 0.222, = 0.030) and number of plaques ( = 0.275, = 0.009). Logistic regression analysis showed that a higher serum visfatin level was an independent predictor for the presence of atherosclerotic plaques.

Conclusions: In conclusion, among patients with T2DM, serum visfatin levels were elevated in those with atherosclerotic plaques, especially in patients with carotid atherosclerotic plaques. Serum visfatin may serve as a predictor of atherosclerotic plaques in patients with T2DM.