Objective To measure serum ghrelin level in elderly Chinese, and investigate the relationship of the serum ghrelin level with age, obesity and other metabolic disorders. Methods A total of 109 men aged over 60 years without history of smoking and alcohol consumption from health examination were enrolled in this study. Subjects were excluded if they had serious diabetic complications, coronary artery disease and hepatic or renal dysfunction. A cross sectional study was made on ghrelin level and the correlated metabolic disorders. Results Compared with ghrelin level in subjects with normal BMI [(823. 57±410.40) ng/L], the ghrelin level was significantly decreased in overweight and obese elderly male, [(442.42 ± 171.10) ng/L and (434.64 ± 177.65) ng/L respectively]. ghrelin was significantly lower in subjects with three or more metabolic disorders (420.84±165.91) ng/L than in those with less disorder. Single factor analysis showed ghrelin was inversely associated with BMI, TG and uric acid (r=-0.359,-0.243,-0.189), but it was not associated with age, blood pressure, fasting glucose and insulin levels. Multivariate analysis revealed only BMI significantly affected the level of ghrelin (β =-0.386). Conclusions BMI is closely associated with ghrelin in elderly male,ghrelin is significantly lower with increased number of metabolic disorders.

Cross-Sectional Studies ; Europe ; Farmers ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Quality of Life ; Schistosomiasis ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires