Gender differences in the association of visceral and subcutaneous adiposity with adiponectin in African Americans: the Jackson Heart Study

• Published in: BMC cardiovascular disorders 2013-02, Vol.13 (1), p.9-9, Article 9
• Main Authors: Bidulescu, Aurelian, Liu, Jiankang, Hickson, DeMarc A, Hairston, Kristen G, Fox, Ervin R, Arnett, Donna K, Sumner, Anne E, Taylor, Herman A, Gibbons, Gary H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdomen; Adiponectin - blood; Adipose tissues; Adiposity - ethnology; Adult; African Americans; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alcohol Drinking - adverse effects; Alcohol Drinking - ethnology; Analysis; Biomarkers - blood; Blood Glucose - metabolism; Blood Pressure; Body Mass Index; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography; Educational Status; Family medical history; Female; Heart; Humans; Insulin Resistance; Intra-Abdominal Fat - diagnostic imaging; Intra-Abdominal Fat - metabolism; Linear Models; Lipids - blood; Male; Medical imaging; Middle Aged; Mississippi - epidemiology; Multidetector Computed Tomography; Multivariate Analysis; Obesity; Obesity - blood; Obesity - diagnostic imaging; Obesity - ethnology; Obesity - physiopathology; Prospective Studies; Risk Factors; Sex Factors; Smoking - adverse effects; Smoking - ethnology; Studies; Subcutaneous Fat - diagnostic imaging; Subcutaneous Fat - metabolism; Tomography; Type 2 diabetes; Waist Circumference; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1471-2261; 1471-2261
• DOI: 10.1186/1471-2261-13-9

Adiponectin, paradoxically reduced in obesity and with lower levels in African Americans (AA), modulates several cardiometabolic risk factors. Because abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT), known to be reduced in AA, and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) compartments may confer differential metabolic risk profiles, we investigated the associations of VAT and SAT with serum adiponectin, separately by gender, with the hypothesis that VAT is more strongly inversely associated with adiponectin than SAT. Participants from the Jackson Heart Study, an ongoing cohort of AA (n = 2,799; 64% women; mean age, 55 ± 11 years) underwent computer tomography assessment of SAT and VAT volumes, and had stored serum specimens analyzed for adiponectin levels. These levels were examined by gender in relation to increments of VAT and SAT. Compared to women, men had significantly lower mean levels of adiponectin (3.9 ± 3.0 μg/mL vs. 6.0 ± 4.4 μg/mL; p