Study Population

This study included 34 MHO and 34 MUO women, and 20 healthy non-obese women as controls. All participants were recruited from among those who attended the Internal Medicine and Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Nutrition outpatient clinics, Kasr Al-Ainy Hospital, Cairo University from December 2022 to April 2023. Patients with (1) secondary obesity (genetic syndromes, drug-induced, and endocrine diseases), (2) autoimmune diseases, (3) malignancy, (4) liver cirrhosis, (5) chronic renal disease, or (6) pregnancy were excluded. All participants underwent thorough medical assessment, including measurements of blood pressure, weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference. All participants were tested for fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels, lipid profiles, urine albumin creatinine ratio (ACR), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to measure microRNA-30a gene expression in the serum of obese and healthy subjects. Serum beclin1 levels were assessed using an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). Patients were classified into MHO and MUO groups based on the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome, as defined in the NCEP 2005 consensus report.¹⁵