Adiponectin Is Present in Cord Blood but Is Unrelated to Birth Weight

Adiponectin Is Present in Cord Blood but Is Unrelated to Birth Weight Robert S. Lindsay , MB, PHD 1 , James D. Walker , MD 2 , Peter J. Havel , PHD 3 , Barbara A. Hamilton 4 , Andrew A. Calder , MD, FRCOG 4 , Frank D. Johnstone , MD, FRCOG 4 and on behalf of The Scottish Multicentre Study of Diabetes in Pregnancy 1 MedStar Research Institute, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, D.C. 2 Diabetic Department, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh NHS Trust, Edinburgh, U.K. 3 Department of Nutrition, University of California–Davis, Davis, California 4 University Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Centre for Reproductive Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, U.K. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Robert Lindsay, MedStar Research Institute, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC 20010. E-mail: robert.lindsay{at}medstar.net Abstract OBJECTIVE —In adults, adiponectin is reduced in association with excess adiposity, type 2 diabetes, and hyperinsulinemia. We assessed whether adiponectin was 1 ) present in the fetal circulation, 2 ) altered in the fetal circulation in the presence of maternal diabetes, and 3 ) had relations to fetal cord blood insulin or adiposity. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS —We assessed adiponectin in cord blood in a large cohort of singleton offspring of diabetic mothers (ODM; n = 134) and control mothers ( n = 45). RESULTS —Adiponectin was present in cord blood and, in ODM, was higher in those delivered at later gestational ages (Spearman r = 0.18, P = 0.03). Adiponectin was slightly lower in ODM than control subjects (ODM 19.7 ± 6.1 vs. control 21.8 ± 5.3 μg/ml; P = 0.04), although this difference could potentially reflect different gestational ages in the two groups (ODM 37.6 ± 1.5 and control 40.1 ± 1.1 weeks). In contrast to adults, adiponectin levels in the fetus were unrelated to the degree of adiposity, blood insulin, or leptin in either control subjects or ODM. CONCLUSIONS —Adiponectin is present in cord blood but does not show expected physiological relations with adiposity as observed in adults. EDD, estimated date of delivery IQR, interquartile range LMP, last menstrual period ODM, offspring of type 1 diabetic mothers Footnotes A table elsewhere in this issue shows conventional and Système International (SI) units and conversion factors for many substances. Accepted May 10, 2003. Received December 4, 2002. DIABETES CARE