Increased plasma asprosin levels in patients with drug-naive anorexia nervosa

Purpose Asprosin is a centrally acting appetite-promoting hormone and promotes glucose production in the liver. This study is the first to investigate the difference in asprosin in the plasma between anorexia nervosa (AN) and healthy controls, and to explore the relationship between asprosin changes and plasma glucose levels and AN symptoms. Methods Plasma asprosin and glucose concentrations were detected in AN patients ( n = 46) and healthy control subjects ( n = 47). Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2) was used to assess subjects’ eating disorder symptoms and related personality traits. The patient’s concomitant levels of depression and anxiety were also measured using the beck depression inventory and beck anxiety inventory, respectively. Results Results indicate that AN patients had a higher asprosin concentration in their plasma compared to healthy controls ( p = 0.033). Among AN patients, plasma asprosin levels correlated positively with EDI-2 interoceptive awareness subscale score ( p = 0.030) and negatively with duration of illness ( p = 0.036). Multiple linear regression analyses showed that increases in asprosin levels ( p = 0.029), glucose levels ( p = 0.024) and body mass index ( p = 0.003) were associated with an increase of the score of EDI-2 bulimia subscale. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the increase in plasma asprosin concentration in patients with AN may be a compensation for the body’s energy shortage, and asprosin may be involved in the development of bulimia and lack of interoceptive awareness in AN patients. Level of evidence Level III, case–control analytic study.