Background: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) frequently have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is linked to higher rates of morbidity and death. The pathophysiology of both NAFLD and type 2 diabetes has been linked to chemerin, an adipokine involved in metabolic control.
Aim: To evaluate the relationship between serum chemerin levels and metabolic parameters in T2DM patients with varying degrees of NAFLD severity.
Patients and methods: This cross-sectional study included 120 patients from Al-Ahrar Teaching Hospital, Egypt. The patients were divided into T2DM group (Group I, n=50) and a concurrent NAFLD group (Group II, n=70). NAFLD severity was categorized into mild (Group II a), moderate (Group II b), and severe (Group II c) based on ultrasonographic criteria. Glycemic, lipid, chemerin, and anthropometric values were measured. Independent predictors of the severity of NAFLD were found using a logistic regression model after correlations between chemerin and metabolic indicators were examined.
Results: There was a substantial difference between the studied groups in terms of Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance and chemerin, with group II c showing much higher levels than the other groups.
Conclusion: Serum chemerin could be a useful biomarker for NAFLD severity in T2DM patients, particularly when combined with standard metabolic measures. The strong associations with metabolic indicators suggest that chemerin may have a mechanistic role in the development of NAFLD in type 2 diabetes, while more research is needed to identify the exact mechanisms involved.