Plasma Adiponectin and Leptin Levels, Body Composition, and Glucose Utilization in Adult Women With Wide Ranges of Age and Obesity

Plasma Adiponectin and Leptin Levels, Body Composition, and Glucose Utilization in Adult Women With Wide Ranges of Age and Obesity Alice S. Ryan , PHD 1 2 , Dora M. Berman , PHD 1 2 , Barbara J. Nicklas , PHD 1 2 , Madhur Sinha , PHD 3 , Ronald L. Gingerich , PHD 3 , Grady S. Meneilly , MD 4 , Josephine M. Egan , MD 5 and Dariush Elahi , PHD 6 1 Department of Medicine, Division of Gerontology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 2 Baltimore Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, Maryland 3 Linco Research, Saint Charles, Missouri 4 Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada 5 National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland 6 Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts Address correspondence and reprint requests to Alice S. Ryan, PhD, Division of Gerontology, BT/18/GR, 10 N. Greene St., Baltimore Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center, Baltimore, MD 21201. E-mail: aryan{at}grecc.umaryland.edu Abstract OBJECTIVE —The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between plasma adiponectin and leptin levels, total and central obesity, and glucose utilization across the adult age span. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS —We studied 148 women aged 18–81 years with a BMI range of 17.2–44.3 kg/m 2 . Total percent body fat was determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and abdominal fat by computed tomography. Glucose tolerance in non-type 2 diabetic volunteers was determined with an oral glucose tolerance test. Glucose utilization ( M ) was measured during the last 60 min of hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps (240 pmol · m −2 · min −1 ). Plasma adiponectin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. The women were separated into three age-groups: young, middle, and old (