Adiponectin Independently Predicts Metabolic Syndrome in Overweight Latino Youth

• Published in: The journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2007-05, Vol.92 (5), p.1809-1813
• Main Authors: Shaibi, Gabriel Q., Cruz, Martha L., Weigensberg, Marc J., Toledo-Corral, Claudia M., Lane, Christianne J., Kelly, Louise A., Davis, Jaimie N., Koebnick, Corinna, Ventura, Emily E., Roberts, Christian K., Goran, Michael I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Absorptiometry, Photon; Adiponectin - blood; Adiposity - physiology; Adolescent; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers; Blood Pressure - physiology; Body Composition - physiology; Child; Endocrinopathies; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glucose Tolerance Test; Hispanic Americans; Humans; Insulin Resistance - physiology; Lipids - blood; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical sciences; Metabolic Syndrome - blood; Metabolic Syndrome - diagnosis; Obesity - blood; Phenotype; Predictive Value of Tests; Sex Characteristics; Vertebrates: endocrinology
• ISSN: 0021-972X; 1945-7197
• DOI: 10.1210/jc.2006-2294

Context: Adiponectin may be important in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome in youth. Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the unique effect of adiponectin on the metabolic syndrome in overweight Latino youth. Participants: Participants included 175 overweight children (aged 11.1 ± 1.7 yr, body mass index percentile 97.3 ± 2.9) with a family history of type 2 diabetes. Methods: Metabolic syndrome was defined according to a pediatric adaptation of the Adult Treatment Panel III report and included dyslipidemia, abdominal obesity, elevated blood pressure, and prediabetes (impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance from a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test). Body composition was estimated via dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, insulin sensitivity was quantified by the frequently sampled iv glucose tolerance test, visceral fat was measured using magnetic resonance imaging, and adiponectin was determined in fasting serum. Results: In simple linear regression, adiponectin was significantly and inversely related to systolic blood pressure (P < 0.05), waist circumference (P < 0.001), triglycerides (P < 0.001), and 2-h glucose levels (P < 0.05) and positively related to high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (P < 0.001). In multiple linear regression, adiponectin was significantly related to triglycerides (P < 0.01) and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (P < 0.01) independent of age, gender, Tanner stage, body composition, and insulin sensitivity. Analyses of covariance established that adiponectin levels were approximately 25% higher in healthy overweight youth, compared with those with the metabolic syndrome (12.5 ± 3.5 vs. 9.4 ± 2.8 μg/ml; P < 0.05). In multiple logistic regression, adiponectin was a significant independent predictor of the metabolic syndrome, even after adjustment for confounders including insulin sensitivity and visceral fat. Conclusions: Hypoadiponectinemia is an independent biomarker of the metabolic syndrome, and thus, adiponectin may play a role in the pathophysiology of the disorder in overweight youth.