Serum adiponectin concentration and cardiovascular risk factors in climacteric women.
OBJECTIVE
Adiponectin plays a significant role in the modulation of glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. We attempted to evaluate the relationship between adiponectin level and parameters of the menopausal metabolic syndrome: body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, lipid profile and insulin resistance indices.


METHODS
Thirty-two women and ten men aged 40-63 years were included. The percentage of body fat and of abdominal fat deposits were measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Serum adiponectin, tumour necrosis factor-a (TNFalpha) and leptin were measured with commercially available radioimmunoassay kits. To exclude the influence of nutritional factors on adiponectin secretion, diet content was analysed in the preceding three days.


RESULTS
Postmenopausal non-obese women had a non-significantly lower level of adiponectin compared with premenopausal women of corresponding body mass. Serum adiponectin level was significantly lower in postmenopausal obese women than in non-obese women (p = 0.0023). Men with similar age and body mass to the women had the lowest level of adiponectin (p = 0.06). Three months of estrogen replacement therapy in women with surgical menopause did not significantly change the serum level of adiponectin. We found a negative correlation of adiponectin with leptin, insulin resistance index and total cholesterol, and a positive correlation with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Adiponectin level was negatively correlated with free testosterone, but we did not find such a relationship with estradiol. There was no correlation of adiponectin level with TNFalpha; however, serum TNFalpha correlated positively with leptin. The dietary analysis showed no differences between the diets of obese and non-obese women over the preceding three days. Moreover, mean diastolic and systolic blood pressures were noted to be significantly lower in premenopausal women than in postmenopausal non-obese women (p = 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that adiponectin could be a marker of risk for developing menopausal metabolic syndrome. Moreover, it is possible that sex steroids have an influence on adiponectin secretion.
Milewicz
Andrzej
A
Department of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland. milewicz@endo.am.wroc.pl
Zatonska
Katarzyna
K
Demissie
Marek
M
Jêdrzejuk
Diana
D
Dunajska
Katarzyna
K
Ilow
Rafał
R
Lwow
Felicja
F
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D052242:Adiponectin; D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001823:Body Composition; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D008593:Menopause / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
D052242:Adiponectin; D015415:Biomarkers; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D020738:Leptin; D014280:Triglycerides; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D002784:Cholesterol