Hypoadiponectinemia and Proinflammatory State: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Hypoadiponectinemia and Proinflammatory State: Two Sides of the Same Coin? Results From the Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg Survey 4 (KORA S4) Christian Herder , PHD 1 , Hans Hauner , MD 2 , Burkhard Haastert , PHD 3 , Karin Röhrig 1 , Wolfgang Koenig , MD 4 , Hubert Kolb , PHD 1 , Sylvia Müller-Scholze , PHD 1 , Barbara Thorand , PHD, MPH 5 , Rolf Holle , PHD 6 and Wolfgang Rathmann , MD, MSPH 3 1 German Diabetes Clinic, German Diabetes Center, Leibniz Center at Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany 2 Else Kröner-Fresenius Center for Nutritional Medicine, Technical University Munich, Freising/Weihenstephan, Germany 3 Institute of Biometrics and Epidemiology, German Diabetes Center, Leibniz Center at Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany 4 Department of Internal Medicine II-Cardiology, University of Ulm Medical Center, Ulm, Germany 5 Institute of Epidemiology, National Research Center for Environment and Health (GSF), Neuherberg, Germany 6 Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management, National Research Center for Environment and Health (GSF), Neuherberg, Germany Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Christian Herder, German Diabetes Clinic, German Diabetes Center, Leibniz Center at Heinrich Heine University, Auf’m Hennekamp 65, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany. E-mail: christian.herder{at}ddz.uni-duesseldorf.de Abstract OBJECTIVE —Previous studies have yielded conflicting results on the association of adiponectin levels and inflammation. Low systemic concentrations of adiponectin, as well as elevated levels of immune mediators, represent risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease. The major aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the interdependence of hypoadiponectinemia and low-grade systemic inflammation. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS —The study sample consisted of 606 participants aged 55–74 years (244 with normal glucose tolerance, 242 with impaired glucose tolerance, and 120 with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes) of the population-based KORA S4 (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg Survey 4; 1999–2001). Systemic concentrations of adiponectin and a wide range of anthropometric, metabolic, and inflammatory variables were available for analyses. The association of adiponectin with 15 immunological markers, including leukocyte count, acute-phase proteins, cytokines, cytokine receptors, and chemokines, was assessed using univariable an