Association of circulating irisin levels with metabolic and metabolite profiles of Korean adolescents

Context Irisin, a novel exercise-induced myokine, has been suggested to regulate energy metabolism. Objective We studied the relationship between circulating irisin and metabolic and metabolite profiles of Korean adolescents, and investigated the effects of physical activity, obesity, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) on irisin levels. Materials and Methods Data were obtained from the Korean Children–Adolescents Study. Our cross-sectional study included 618 adolescents (370 normal-weight and 248 obese adolescents; 316 boys and 302 girls) aged 12–15 years. Body composition was determined using an impedance body composition analyzer and general participant characteristics and lifestyle information were obtained from questionnaires. Serum irisin levels were measured using a commercial kit. Results Mean body mass index (BMI) was 19.4 kg/m² in normal-weight adolescents and 31.4 kg/m² in obese adolescents. Circulating irisin was positively correlated with adiposity indices, including BMI z-score, waist circumference, percent body fat, fat mass, fat-free mass, fat mass to fat-free mass ratio, and lipid and glucose metabolism markers, including total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides, glucose, insulin, and homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance (all p ≤ 0.006). Of these, increased body fat mass [standardized (Std) ß, 0.23; p < 0.0001], LDL-C (Std ß, 0.14; p = 0.0005) and fasting glucose (Std ß, 0.08; p = 0.0383) were the main independent factors associated with higher irisin levels. Moreover, elevated serum irisin was associated with the risk of obesity [odds ratio (OR], 2.2; confidence interval (CI), 1.19–3.87] and MetS (OR, 2.0; CI, 1.15–3.47). Furthermore, irisin and branched-chain amino acids were positively associated (p < 4 × 10^− 4 for Bonferroni correction). Additionally, in the normal-weight group, girls had higher irisin levels than boys (p = 0.006) and adolescents who engaged in regular physical activity had higher levels of irisin than sedentary adolescents (p = 0.0388). The relationship between physical activity and irisin levels was not observed in obese adolescents. Conclusions Elevated serum irisin was independently associated with the risk of obesity and positively correlated with unhealthy metabolic parameters and metabolites. Moreover, irisin levels were higher in active versus sedentary adolescents in the normal-weight group, but not in the obese group. Our findings suggest that irisin plays an important role in metabolic disorders and may be affected by physiopathological status.