Association of Nesfatin-1 Level with Body Composition in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Aim. To study the association of serum nesfatin 1 (NF-1) levels with body mass index (BMI), body composition and rheumatic cachexia (RC).

Design. Cross-sectional comparative study.

Materials and methods. 110 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 60 healthy controls were enrolled in our study. Standard clinical and laboratory examination was performed. NF-1 levels were determined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Each person undergone dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry with Total Body program.

Results. Serum NF-1 levels were higher in patients with RA, compared with healthy controls (50.49 ± 34.05 vs 31.61 ± 3.17 ng/ml, t = 4.28; p < 0.0001). RC was determined in 30 patients. In healthy controls, the median level of NF-1 was higher in overweight patients than with normal BMI of class 1 obesity (H = 6.0; p = 0.049). NF-1 in patients with RA correlated with lean mass in legs (separately for the left one), left half of the body, trunk and android region. Median levels of NF-1 in patients were comparable in patients with or without RC.

Conclusion. Despite we observed association between serum NF-1 levels and lean tissue mass, this neuroendocrine peptide can’t be used as a marker for RC (Z = 1.45; p = 0.147). Additional studies should be performed to clarify the mechanism of association of NF-1 with lean tissue mass, which would likely contribute to the development of a new approach to controlling this indicator.

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