The effect of sleeve gastrectomy on serum irisin levels in patients with morbid obesity

Introduction: Irisin, a recently identified myokine, is associated with increased energy expenditure and has a potential role in obesity. Therefore, we investigated circulating irisin levels in morbidly obese patients undergoing sleeve gastrectomy (SG). Materials and methods: Thirty morbidly obese patients undergoing SG and 30 healthy subjects were included. All participants were evaluated at baseline and again at three months post-SG. Body weight and height, the lipid profile, and plasma glucose, HbA1c, insulin, and irisin levels were measured at each visit. Results: The two groups had similar mean age and sex distribution. Serum irisin was significantly lower in the morbidly obese subjects compared with the controls (p - 0.003) and negatively correlated with BMI, body weight, insulin levels, and HOMA-IR (p - 0.006, p = 0.011, p = 0.046, p = 0.048, respectively). When the morbidly obese patients were re-evaluated three months post-SG, their weight and BMI had significantly decreased (both p = 0.001). Similarly, the insulin, HbA1c, HDL-cholesterol, and HOMA-IR values significantly decreased (p - 0.001, p - 0.028, p - 0.006, and p - 0.001, respectively). However, irisin levels remained unchanged (p = 0,267). Conclusion: Although the irisin levels were significantly lower in the morbidly obese subjects, they did not change after SG-induced weight loss.