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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #285027
Title: Adiponectin: an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease in men in the Framingham Offspring Study

Author
item AI, MASUMI - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University
item OTOKOZAWA, SEIKO - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University
item ASZTALOS, BELA F. - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University
item WHITE, CHARLES C. - Boston University
item CUPPLES, L. ADRIENNE - Boston University
item NAKAJIMA, KATSUYUKI - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University
item LAMON-FAVA, STEFANIA - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University
item WILSON, PETER W. - Framingham Heart Study
item MATSUZAWA, YUJI - Sumitomo Hospital
item SCHAEFER, ERNST J. - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University

Submitted to: Atherosclerosis
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/27/2011
Publication Date: 8/1/2011
Citation: Ai, M., Otokozawa, S., Asztalos, B., White, C., Cupples, L., Nakajima, K., Lamon-Fava, S., Wilson, P., Matsuzawa, Y., Schaefer, E. 2011. Adiponectin: an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease in men in the Framingham Offspring Study. Atherosclerosis. 217(2):543-548.

Interpretive Summary: Adiponectin is a protein secreted by body fat tissue. It has been suggested that adiponectin functions as a strong anti-inflammatory protein and that it improves the activity of insulin. To investigate whether these properties of adiponectin translate into a reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), we have measured blood adiponectin concentrations in 3,188 men and women participating in the Framingham Offspring Study with a mean age of 57 years and free of CHD. They were followed for 12 years to assess the occurrence of new incidence of heart attack or death from CHD. We found that men with high plasma adiponectin levels had a significantly lower risk of future CHD. A similar, but less strong, association was observed in women. We conclude that adiponectin levels in blood may be used as a predictor of CHD risk in men.

Technical Abstract: Our aim was to determine whether plasma adiponectin levels were an independent predictor of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. Plasma adiponectin levels were measured in 3,188 male and female participants from cycle 6 of the Framingham Offspring Study (mean age: 57 years in both men and women; BMI: 28.5 kg/m**2 in men and 27.3 kg/m**2 in women), using a novel fully-automated assay. Plasma adiponectin levels (median [25th percentile, 75th percentile]) were significantly higher in female than in male CHD-free subjects (14.8 [10.7, 20.5] microgram/mL versus 9.0 [7.0, 12.2] microgram/mL, p less than 0.001). Participants were followed for a mean of 7.5 years. After adjustment for age, BMI, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, treatment for hypertension, diabetes, use of cholesterol-lowering medication, total cholesterol level, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, and C-reactive protein levels, a higher plasma adiponectin level was a significant predictor of lower risk of future CHD events (n=117) in men (HR 0.49, p less than 0.0022). A similar trend was observed in women, but was no longer significant after multivariate adjustments. Our data indicate that plasma adiponectin levels are an independent predictor of CHD in Caucasian men initially free of CHD.