Background: Due to the high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, dyslipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, chronic low-grade inflammation, and malnutrition in chronic renal disease, an association with adropin can hypothesized as it is a secretory protein encoded by energy balance gene and is closely associated with regulation of energy metabolism and insulin resistance. This study aimed to evaluate possible associations between serum adropin with nutritional status and other relevant laboratory parameters in hemodialysis (HD) patients.

Subjects and methods: The current case-control study was performed on 88 subjects, 74 hemodialysis patients and 14 sex and age-matched healthy volunteers as a control group. Serum adropin level was analyzed among all participants with Subjective Global Assessment Score (SGAS).

Results: The mean adropin level in the patients' group was 2.62± 0.65 (ng/mL), and in the control group was 5.82± 0.73(ng/mL) with a high statistically significant difference (p<0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between HDL and adropin (p=0.004), but there was a negative significant correlation between Cholesterol and adropin (p=0.045). The sensitivity of adropin in Hemodialysis Patients was 56.67%, and the specificity was 83.33%, with an area under the curve of about 0.731 in cutoff point >2.4 to determine malnutrition. A significant positive correlation existed between malnutrition (mild, moderate, severe) and adropin. The significant predictors for serum adropin levels in hemodialysis patients were higher Cholesterol levels, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and higher body mass index (BMI) levels.

Conclusion: Adropin is potentially involved in the pathophysiological mechanisms of chronic kidney disease and hemodialysis patients and its complications like malnutrition