The leptin to adiponectin ratio is a good biomarker for the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, dependent on visceral fat accumulation and endurance fitness in obese patients with diabetes mellitus.
BACKGROUND
We investigated the contribution of adiponectin or leptin on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS), while also taking cardiorespiratory fitness and visceral fat accumulation into account regarding diabetes patients.


METHODS
Japanese male patients (n = 77) with either impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or type 2 diabetes mellitus were divided into three tertiles according to their adipocytokine levels. A logistic regression analysis was performed after adjusting for age to investigate the association between the adipocytokine levels and the prevalence of MS based on World Health Organization (WHO) criteria.


RESULTS
The visceral fat area (VFA) and maximal oxygen uptake ([Formula: see text] O(2)max) were found to be significantly different within the tertiles regarding the leptin and adiponectin levels and the adiponectin-to-leptin (A/L) ratio. The low tertile of leptin showed a significantly lower odds ratio (OR) for prevalence of MS than that in the high group. Both the low and the medium tertiles of adiponectin showed a significantly higher OR for prevalence of SM than that of the high group. Especially, the low tertile of A/L ratio had about an eight times higher prevalence of MS than the high tertile, and the difference was significant. However, when both the VFA and/or [Formula: see text] O(2)max were added to the logistic regression model as adjusting factors, all of these significant differences disappeared.


CONCLUSIONS
The A/L ratio is suggested to be a good biomarker for the prevalence of MS in comparison to the adiponectin and leptin levels alone. However, these relationships are dependent on abdominal fat accumulation and/or cardiorespiratory fitness levels.
Kumagai
Shuzo
S
Institute of Health Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Kishimoto
Hiroyo
H
Masatakasuwa
Zou
Buhao
B
Harukasasaki