Adiponectin and cardiac geometry and function in elderly: results from two community-based cohort studies

OBJECTIVE: Several smaller studies have indicated that adiponectin might be associated with left ventricular (LV) mass and function, but community-based studies with adequate sample size and adjustment for potential confounders are lacking. Our objective was to investigate such associations in two large community-based studies of elderly. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. METHODS: We evaluated cross-sectional relations between serum adiponectin and echocardiographic measures of cardiac geometry and function (LV mass index, LV relative wall thickness, LV end-diastolic diameter, left atrial diameter, ejection fraction, LV isovolumic relaxation time, and E/A ratio) in 954 70-year-old participants (50% women) of the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS), and in 427 71-year-old men from the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men (ULSAM). RESULTS: In models adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, antihypertensive treatment, antidiabetic treatment, lipid-lowering medication, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, creatinine, and smoking, adiponectin was inversely associated with ejection fraction in men (beta, -1.62; 95% confidence interval (CI), -2.50, -0.75 in PIVUS; beta, -1.35; 95% CI, -2.41, -0.29 in ULSAM), but not in women. After additional adjustment for N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), the association between adiponectin and ejection fraction was attenuated (beta, -0.98; 95% CI, -1.86, -0.10 in PIVUS; beta, -0.75; 95% CI, -1.84, 0.35 in ULSAM). CONCLUSIONS: Serum adiponectin concentrations were associated with ejection fraction in men, and these associations were partially attenuated by NT-proBNP. Our results imply that adiponectin may be associated with systolic function through pathways that involve natriuretic peptides.