To evaluate the circulating levels of
adipokines (
leptin and
adiponectin) and
ghrelin in patients with
familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) and also to assess the relationships between these molecules and disease-related parameters. Forty-eight FMF patients in attack-free period (31 men, [M], 17 women, [F], mean age 35.8 ± 8.6 years, and a mean body mass index [BMI] of 24.7 ± 3.1) and 40 age-, sex-, and BMI-matched healthy controls (24 M, 16 F, mean age 35.5 ± 8.5 years, and a mean BMI of 24.5 ± 2.8) were included in the study. Patients and controls with a history of any other
chronic diseases and obese or underweight subjects were excluded. High-sensitive
C-reactive protein (
hs-CRP),
leptin,
adiponectin, and total
ghrelin concentrations were studied. Age, sex, BMI, waist circumference, and smoking status were similar between FMF patients and controls (P > 0.05). Adipose tissue-derived molecules including
leptin, and
adiponectin were lower than healthy controls but only
adiponectin levels reached the statistically significance (16.7 ± 8.9 ng/ml vs. 27.7 ± 15.9 ng/ml, P < 0.001) and
leptin concentrations just missed significance (25.2 ± 16.2 ng/ml vs. 34.9 ± 27.2 ng/ml, P = 0.051).
Ghrelin concentrations were not different between the groups.
Adiponectin levels were significantly and negatively correlated with
hs-CRP (P < 0.05, r = -0.24). The results of this study suggest that low-grade chronic
inflammation during attack-free period in FMF patients may suppress
adiponectin production or low levels of
adiponectin might contribute to subclinical
inflammation in these patients.