ITLN1 and metabolic syndrome: However, low circulating ITLN1 levels in people with impaired glucose regulation and untreated type 2 diabetes (52), women with metabolic syndrome secondary to polycystic ovary syndrome (53), and Japanese men with a higher number of metabolic risk factors (54) as well as in women with gestational diabetes and BMI <30 (52) suggest that low ITLN1 may be a marker for the metabolic effects of obesity rather than obesity itself.