title: Plasma adiponectin, body mass index, and mortality in patients with chronic heart failure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent studies have suggested that higher body mass index (BMI) is associated with improved prognosis in chronic heart failure (CHF). The adipocytokine adiponectin is inversely associated with BMI, and in healthy subjects, low adiponectin is a predictor of mortality. In a prospective study, we therefore evaluated the association between plasma adiponectin levels and mortality among patients with CHF.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 195 CHF patients (age 69.3+/-10.2 years, BMI 27.3+/-5.2 kg/m2, left ventricular ejection fraction 30+/-8.9%, mean+/-SD), plasma adiponectin and N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were measured at baseline. Adiponectin was positively associated with NT-proBNP (beta=0.47, P<0.001), and both biomarkers were negatively associated with BMI (beta=-0.43, P<0.001 for adiponectin and beta=-0.38, P<0.001 for NT-proBNP, respectively) During a median follow-up of 2.6 years, 46 (23.5%) of the patients died. After adjustment for clinical variables associated with CHF severity (age, systolic blood pressure, left ventricular ejection fraction <25%, duration of CHF, and creatinine clearance) and for NT-proBNP, the hazard ratio of mortality for values in the 2 upper tertiles relative to the lowest tertile of adiponectin was 3.23 (P=0.032). BMI predicted mortality independently of clinical parameters of CHF severity (hazard ratio=0.63, P=0.012), but this association became insignificant after additional adjustment for NT-proBNP (hazard ratio=0.74, P=0.13).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A high adiponectin level was a predictor of mortality, independent of risk markers of CHF severity, presumably because of its role as a marker for wasting. BMI was also associated with mortality, but a part of this relation may be mediated by adiponectin and NT-proBNP levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology and Endocrinology, Frederiksberg University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark. cnkistorp@dadlnet.dk
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kistorp
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Faber
authors.forename: Søren
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galatius
authors.forename: Finn
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Frystyk
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flyvbjerg
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hildebrandt
mesh_terms: D052242:Adiponectin / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012044:Regression Analysis; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D052242:Adiponectin; D015415:Biomarkers; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C109794:pro-brain natriuretic peptide (1-76); D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain