The association of serum chemerin levels with retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objective: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the microvascular complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A reliable biomarker is needed for the early diagnosis of this complication. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum chemerin and DR in T2DM patients. Methods: The present study included 57 patients with T2DM and 20 healthy individuals. The T2DM patients were divided into three groups: nonretinopathy, nonproliferative retinopathy and proliferative retinopathy. Biochemical parameters, anthropometric measurements and ophthalmological examination findings of the participants were recorded. Results: There was no significant difference between the chemerin levels of the patients and the control group (0.53(0.19-6.86) µg/ml vs. 0.7(0.25-3.88) µg/ml p=0.08), respectively. There was no significant difference between the patients with retinopathy and the control group for chemerin levels (p=0.13). Conclusion: The present study showed that there was no significant difference in serum chemerin levels between T2DM patients and the control group. The reason for this may be that serum chemerin levels are affected by many other factors. Further studies are needed to determine whether chemerin has an effect on pathogenesis.