1188-P: The New Myokine Myonectin Is Significantly Associated with Type 2 Diabetes in Elderly Patients

The novel myokine myonectin is predominantly expressed in skeletal muscle and is involved in the regulation of metabolic homeostasis. A putative association between myonectin and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been discussed controversially in current literature. The association between myonectin and T2DM at different ages is still obscure and thus is addressed in the present study. We measured myonectin in 410 vascular risk patients with a mean age of 66 years. Myonectin did not correlate with age (r=-0.19; p=0.697). Half of our patients (53%) were elderly (≥66 years; n=219) with a mean age of 74 years. The younger ones (≤65 years; n=191) had a mean age of 57 years. 40.6% (n=89) of elderly patients had T2DM and 42.4% (n=81) of the younger ones. Myonectin concentrations were significantly decreased in elderly patients with T2DM compared to nondiabetic ones (1.8 vs, 4.2 ng/ml; p=0.002), whereas no significant difference was seen in younger patients (2.6 vs. 2.3 ng/ml; p=0.183). Regression analysis revealed an unadjusted odds ratio (OR) of 0.24 [0.07-0.81] (p=0.021) for the association between myonectin and T2DM in elderly patients but not in younger patients (OR=1.08 [0.80-1.45]; p=0.609). This association remained significant after adjusting for sex, body mass index, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, current smoking, as well as statin intake in elderly but not in younger patients (OR=0.23 [0.07-0.81]; p=0.021 vs. OR=1.05 [0.76-1.46]; p=0.769). We conclude that plasma myonectin levels are significantly associated with T2DM particularly in elderly vascular risk patients.