Key result
Hispanic adults and adult males had significantly lower adiponectin levels compared to Non-Hispanic White adults and females, with adiponectin inversely correlating with insulin resistance.
Why the study?
Are there ethnic and sex differences in adiponectin levels across the lifespan, and how do they relate to insulin resistance?
Cross-Sectional (n=304)
Are there ethnic and sex differences in adiponectin levels across the lifespan, and how do they relate to insulin resistance?
Hispanic adults, particularly females, have lower adiponectin levels across the lifespan compared to non-Hispanic Whites, which may contribute to their greater cardiometabolic risk.
Ethnic and sex adiponectin differences should not yet guide practice; leaves open their contribution to insulin resistance disparities pending longitudinal data.
CONTEXT: Insulin resistance (IR) and type 2 diabetes are increasing, particularly in Hispanic (H) vs non-Hispanic White (NHW) populations. Adiponectin has a known role in IR, and therefore, understanding ethnic and sex-specific behavior of adiponectin across the lifespan is of clinical significance. OBJECTIVE: To compare ethnic and sex differences in adiponectin, independent of body mass index, across the lifespan and relationship to IR. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Primary care, referral center. PATIENTS: A total of 187 NHW and 117 H participants (8-57 y) without diabetes. Life stage: pre-/early puberty (Tanner 1/2), midpubertal (Tanner 3/4), late pubertal (Tanner 5, <21 years), and adult (Tanner 5, ≥21). INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Fasting adiponectin, insulin, glucose, and revised homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance. RESULTS: Adiponectin was significantly inversely correlated with revised homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance. Regarding puberty, adiponectin trended downward in late puberty, but only males were significantly lower in adulthood. By sex, adiponectin was lower in adult males vs females of both ethnicities. Regarding ethnicity, H adults of both sexes had lower adiponectin than NHW adults. Of note, in NHW females, adiponectin trended highest in adulthood, whereas in H females, adiponectin fell in late puberty and remained lower in adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Adiponectin inversely correlated with IR, trended down in late puberty, and was lowest in adult males. H adults of both sexes had lower adiponectin than NHW adults, and H females followed a more "male pattern," lacking the rebound in adiponectin seen in NHW females after puberty. These data suggest that adiponectin, independent of body mass index, may relate to the greater cardiometabolic risk seen in H populations and in particular H females.
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Ohman-Hanson et al. (2016) conducted a cross-sectional in Insulin resistance (n=304). Hispanic ethnicity and male sex vs. Non-Hispanic White ethnicity and female sex was evaluated on Fasting adiponectin, insulin, glucose, and revised homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance. Hispanic adults and adult males had significantly lower adiponectin levels compared to Non-Hispanic White adults and females, with adiponectin inversely correlating with insulin resistance.
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