Association Between Plasma Asprosin Levels and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

This study sought to investigate whether asprosin can be used in the diagnosis of GDM or for diagnostic purposes in high-risk pregnancies, along with a review of other parameters that may be associated with serum asprosin levels.

The study investigated the association between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and asprosin levels. A total of 93 participants; 30 patients with GDM, 33 healthy pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), and 30 healthy non-diabetic women (control group) at the Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases outpatient clinic of a tertiary care university hospital were enrolled in the study. Patients with GDM and NGT were examined in terms of GDM between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy (2nd trimester). Patient data were collected during routine examinations, and asprosin levels were measured using the ELISA method. All participants underwent testing for measurements of serum hemoglobin, insulin, C-peptide, fasting plasma glucose, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels following a fasting period of at least eight hours.

Asprosin levels were higher in pregnant women with NGT and with GDM versus controls (Control-NGT asprosin, p = 0.001; Control-GDM asprosin, p = 0.001). Pregnant women with GDM had higher asprosin levels than those with NGT (p = 0.001). In detecting GDM in pregnant women, an asprosin cutoff value of >31.709 ng/mL yielded a sensitivity of 93.3%, specificity of 90.9%, positive predictive value of 90.3%, and negative predictive value of 93.75% (p < 0.001).

Serum asprosin levels can potentially be used as a marker in the diagnosis of GDM.