title: The relationship between insulin sensitivity and serum adiponectin levels in three population groups.
abstract: Reduced plasma adiponectin levels are associated with insulin resistance. Black South Africans, like African Americans, are more insulin-resistant than BMI-matched white subjects, as are Asian Indians. We investigated whether this interethnic variation in insulin resistance is due to differences in plasma adiponectin levels. Blood and anthropometric measurements were taken from black, white and Asian-Indian subjects. Serum adiponectin, lipids, glucose and insulin were measured; insulin sensitivity was calculated using HOMA. Black (HOMA = 2.62 +/- 0.99) and Asian-Indian subjects (HOMA = 3.41 +/- 2.85) were more insulin-resistant than BMI-matched white (HOMA = 1.76 +/- 0.63) subjects (p = 0.0001). Furthermore, the white subjects had higher adiponectin levels (8.11 +/- 4.39 microg/ml) compared to black (5.71 +/- 2.50 microg/ml) and Asian Indian (5.86 +/- 2.50 microg/ml) subjects (p = 0.003). When all ethnic groups were combined, multiple regression analysis demonstrated that serum adiponectin levels corrected for BMI and ethnicity did not correlate with HOMA, but did explain 10.0 % of the variance in HDL-cholesterol levels. Within each ethnic group, adiponectin only correlated inversely with HOMA in white subjects. Adiponectin may play a role in determining serum HDL-cholesterol levels, but ethnic variation in insulin sensitivity is not dependent on serum levels of this adipokine. The relationship between adiponectin and insulin resistance varies across ethnic groups.
authors.affiliation: Endocrinology and Metabolism Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, South Africa. Wferris@sun.ac.za
authors.forename: W F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Ferris
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Naran
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Crowther
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rheeder
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van der Merwe
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chetty
mesh_terms: D052242:Adiponectin / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D044383:Black People; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000208:ethnology*; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American
chemical_list: D052242:Adiponectin; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL