Low plasma adiponectin concentration is an indicator of the metabolic syndrome

OBJECTIVE: Adiponectin is an adipocytokine known to be decreased in obesity. It functions in glucose and fatty acid metabolism and also has an anti-inflammatory role in microvasculature. We wanted to investigate the role of adiponectin as a biomarker of metabolic syndrome (MS) and see how the plasma adiponectin levels relate to new criteria of MS proposed by the International Diabetes Federation. METHODS: Plasma adiponectin concentrations were measured from total of 1041 Finnish subjects with an ELISA - a novel method planned in our laboratory. RESULTS: In both the sexes, the plasma adiponectin levels were lower in subjects with MS when compared with subjects with no diagnosis of MS (P< 0.001). Plasma adiponectin levels did not differ between subjects with National Cholesterol Education Program (ATPIII) and International Diabetes Federation-defined MS. Lower adiponectin levels were associated with different components of the MS and there was a trend towards decreasing adiponectin levels with an increasing number of components of MS in both the sexes. Subjects in the lowest adiponectin quartile had a significantly higher probability of having MS (P< 0.001), 4.4-fold in males and 7.5-fold in females, when compared with the corresponding individuals in the highest quartile. The probability increased in every lowering quartile of adiponectin level and was independent of body mass index. CONCLUSION: We conclude that adiponectin levels correlate with most of the components of the MS and the metabolic cluster per se.