Influence of age and visceral fat area on plasma adiponectin concentrations in women with normal glucose tolerance.
BACKGROUND
Age-related adiponectin concentration has been discrepantly reported. We investigated the distribution of adiponectin by age in healthy women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and the relationship of adiponectin with visceral fat area (VFA).


METHODS
Three-hundred fifty-nine women (age: 38+/-0.6 years, BMI: 26.5+/-0.2 kg/m(2)) were categorized into 4 age-groups: 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, and 50-64 years. Computed tomography was performed to measure abdominal fat area and adiponectin, TNF-alpha, interleukin-6 (IL-6), CRP, insulin, free fatty acid (FFA), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were determined.


RESULTS
No significant differences were observed in BMI, total body fat percent and concentrations of insulin, IL-6 and CRP among age-groups. Waist circumference, total fat area at L4, and FFA were significantly higher only in postmenopausal women than in previous decades of premenopausal women. VFA, adiponectin and TNF-alpha concentrations are significantly higher in older women than in younger women. Higher adiponectin concentration in older women was clearly shown even after adjustment for VFA (P<0.05). Age per se was positively correlated with plasma adiponectin concentrations (r=0.21, P<0.001) and these relationship became stronger (r=0.36, P<0.001) after controlled for VFA. VFA was negatively correlated with adiponectin (r=-0.16, P<0.01) in total studied population. However, when analyzed subgroups separately, a strong negative correlation (r=-0.37, P<0.001) was found in younger women (<40 years), while a weak significant relationship (r=-0.18, P<0.05) was found in older women (> or =40 years). In a multiple stepwise regression model to predict adiponectin, only age and VFA remained in the model at P<0.001.


CONCLUSIONS
We observed a significant positive relationship between plasma adiponectin and age, even after adjustment for visceral adiposity. These associations suggest that adiponectin concentrations are affected by visceral adiposity, with additional independent effects of age.
Koh
Soo Jeong
SJ
Yonsei University Research Institute of Science for Aging, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
Hyun
Yae Jung
YJ
Choi
So Yeon
SY
Chae
Jey Sook
JS
Kim
Ji Young
JY
Park
Sungha
S
Ahn
Chul-Min
CM
Jang
Yangsoo
Y
Lee
Jong Ho
JH
D050153:Abdominal Fat; D052242:Adiponectin / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001823:Body Composition; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged
D052242:Adiponectin; D018836:Inflammation Mediators