title: Gender differences in ghrelin association with cardiometabolic risk factors in arab population.
abstract: Ghrelin is a stomach produced hormone that has been shown to have protective role against development of CVD which is a leading cause of death in the Arab world. The objective of this study is to examine the gender difference in association between traditional CVD risk factors and plasma ghrelin among Arabs. 359 Arab residents in Kuwait participated in a cross-sectional survey (≥20 years old): 191 were females and 168 were males. Plasma level of ghrelin was assessed using Luminex-based assay. Ghrelin levels were significantly higher in females (935 ± 78 pg/mL) than males (763 ± 65 pg/mL) (P = 0.0007). Females showed inverse association with WC (r = -0.23, P = 0.001) and HbA1C (r = -0.19, P = 0.0102) as well as SBP (r = -0.15, P = 0.0383) and DBP (r = -0.16, P = 0.0230), respectively. Higher levels of ghrelin were shown to associate with increased insulin resistance, as measured by HOMAIR, in male Arab subjects (P-trend = 0.0202) but not in females. In this study we show that higher ghrelin level was negatively associated with measures of obesity, HbA1C, and blood pressure in females and positively associated with increased insulin resistance in Arab males.
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Unit, Dasman Diabetes Institute, P.O. Box 1180, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8357-1252
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abu-Farha
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Research Center, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, P.O. Box 5825, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1808-2564
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dehbi
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics and Epidemiology Department, Dasman Diabetes Institute, P.O. Box 1180, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2273-5756
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Noronha
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Unit, Dasman Diabetes Institute, P.O. Box 1180, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3024-5370
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tiss
authors.affiliation: Dasman Diabetes Institute, P.O. Box 1180, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Monira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alarouj
authors.affiliation: Dasman Diabetes Institute, P.O. Box 1180, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Kazem
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Behbehani
authors.affiliation: Dasman Diabetes Institute, P.O. Box 1180, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bennakhi
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics and Epidemiology Department, Dasman Diabetes Institute, P.O. Box 1180, Kuwait City, Kuwait ; Clinical Epidemiology, Sidra Medical and Research Center, P.O. Box 26999, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Naser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Elkum