Decreased serum fetuin-A levels and active inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND:Fetuin-A is a mediator of inflammatory response that might also be involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study aims to assess whether serum fetuin-A levels are associated with the disease activity in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). METHODS:A total of 139 patients with CD, 114 patients with UC, and 46 controls were enrolled in this study. The serum fetuin-A levels of the participants were measured using commercially available sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS:The patients with IBD had significantly lower serum fetuin-A levels compared with the healthy controls. The active patients with CD and patients with UC both had significantly decreased serum fetuin-A levels compared with the inactive patients with CD and patients with UC. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that decreased serum fetuin-A levels were independently associated with the disease activity of CD and UC. Serum fetuin-A levels were negatively associated with C-reactive protein concentrations and white blood cell count in patients with CD but not in patients with UC. CONCLUSIONS:Decreased serum fetuin-A levels were independently associated with disease activity in patients with CD and UC. The utilization of fetuin-A concentration measurements as markers of disease activity in patients with IBD warrants further investigations.