title: The adipokine profile of metabolically benign obese and at-risk normal weight postmenopausal women: the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Nearly, a third of obese individuals, termed metabolically benign obese, have a low burden of adiposity-related cardiometabolic abnormalities, whereas a substantial proportion of normal-weight individuals possess risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  In cross-sectional analyses of 699 normal weight and 1,294 overweight/obese postmenopausal women enrolled in a nested case-control stroke study ancillary to the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study, we compared levels of adiponectin, leptin, and resistin among metabolically benign normal weight, at-risk normal weight, metabolically benign obese, and at-risk obese women using components of the ATP III definition of the metabolic syndrome (metabolically benign: ≤1 of the four components; at-risk phenotype: ≥2 components or diabetes).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 382/699 normal-weight women (54.6%) and 328/1,194 overweight/obese women (27.5%) were metabolically benign. Among normal-weight women, at-risk women had higher leptin and lower adiponectin levels compared to metabolically benign women; multivariate-adjusted odds ratios were significant for having leptin (OR: 2.51; 95% CI: 1.28-5.01) and resistin (1.46; 1.03-2.07) in the top tertile and adiponectin in the bottom tertile (2.64; 1.81-3.84). Compared to metabolically benign overweight/obese women, at-risk obese women had higher odds of having leptin in the top tertile (1.62; 1.24-2.12) and adiponectin in the bottom tertile (2.78; 2.04-3.77).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, metabolically benign overweight/obese women had an intermediate adipokine profile (between at-risk obese and metabolically benign normal-weight women), whereas at-risk normal-weight women had a less favorable profile compared to metabolically benign normal-weight women. As adiponectin was the only adipokine independent of BMI, it may be most likely to have a role in the etiological pathway of these phenotypes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Unab I
authors.initials: UI
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Alexandra D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Ogorodnikova
authors.forename: Linzhi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wassertheil-Smoller
authors.forename: Gloria Y F
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Mary Fran R
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Sowers
authors.forename: Swapnil N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Rajpathak
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.forename: Rachel H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Mackey
authors.forename: Mara Z
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Vitolins
authors.forename: Joann E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Manson
authors.forename: Rachel P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Wildman
mesh_terms: D052242:Adiponectin / Q000097:blood*; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D016015:Logistic Models; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood*; D050177:Overweight / Q000097:blood; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000097:blood*; D052243:Resistin / Q000097:blood*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D052242:Adiponectin; D020738:Leptin; D052243:Resistin