New research has revealed that the levels of plasma ghrelin detected in women could indicate the woman’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Researchers found that even after adjustments were made for age and race of the women subjects, those with higher ghrelin levels were seen to have lower type 2 Diabetes risk.

And even when adjustments were made for factors such as hypertension, smoking, hormone therapy and cholesterol, this inverse relationship between ghrelin and diabetes risk continued to be seen.

Ghrelin levels and diabetes
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Jacqueline Danik, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, confirmed that higher the ghrelin levels lower the BMI. There was also seen to be an inverse relationship between ghrelin levels and circulating leptin levels.

Ghrelin is a hormone that is known to be involved in the stimulation of hunger and determination of the feeling of satiation. It is known to be counterpart of the hormone leptin. Controlling the hormones, their levels and their proportions in relation to each other is sometimes used as part of bariatric procedures – modifications made in the levels of these hormones produce a sense of fullness or satiety in a person, earlier than would be the case otherwise.