Dysadipokinemia in patients with gout and its association with the disease activity

Introduction: In recent years, the role of adipokines in the development of rheumatic diseases has been a pressing issue. The available data suggest the dysadipokinemia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and psoriatic arthritis. However, there is no data on changes in the levels of adipokines in patients with gout and their association with the activity of inflammatory process. The aim was to study the levels of adipokines in gout patients and evaluate their association with the disease activity.

Materials and methods: We examined 151 male patients with gout. The control group consisted of 31 practically healthy men, represented by age. We used the Gout Activity Score (GAS) to assess gout severity. The levels of leptin and adiponectin were determined using the ELISA kit. For comprehensive evaluation of dysadipokinemia, we used a logarithmic ratio of leptin to adiponectin (lg A/L). Primary processing of results was carried out using MS Excel and Statistica SPSS22 statistical software packages.

Results: The patients with gout demonstrated higher leptin levels, lower levels of adiponectin, and lower lg A/L compared to practically healthy individuals. Among patients with gout, the disturbance of adipokin status was most pronounced in patients with tophi. Patients with high GAS activity had maximum disturbance of adipokin profile by lg A/L, while the manifestations of dysadipokinemia were minimal in the group with low activity of the disease. It was established that GAS disease activity, BMI, and the number of joints under attack may be considered the most significant independent predictors of dysadipokinemia.

Conclusions: The patients with gout presented an increase in leptin level, a decrease in adiponectin level, and a decrease in the ratio lg A/L. Dysadipokinemia was associated with high disease activity and could serve as a prognostic factor for assessing the severity of the disease.