Hypoadiponectinemia is associated with symptomatic atherosclerotic peripheral arterial disease

There is growing evidence that adiponectin, an adipocytokine with anti-inflammatory and antiatherogenic properties, is involved in the development of atherosclerosis. The aim of the present study was to examine whether serum levels of adiponectin were associated with symptomatic atherosclerotic peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Serum concentrations of adiponectin were measured in 433 patients with symptomatic PAD and 433 controls from the Linz Peripheral Arterial Disease (LIPAD) study. Cases and controls were matched for age, sex and diabetes mellitus. The median serum level of adiponectin was significantly lower in PAD patients than in control subjects (9.5 vs. 10.8 mg/L; p=0.014). After adjustment for several possible confounding variables using multivariable logistic regression, odds ratios for symptomatic PAD were 0.95 (95% CI, 0.64-1.42; p=0.080) and 0.59 (95% CI, 0.36-0.97; p=0.037) in the second and third tertiles for adiponectin serum concentrations, respectively, compared with the first tertile. Low serum levels of adiponectin were associated with the presence of symptomatic atherosclerotic PAD, independent of traditional and non-traditional risk factors, suggesting that hypoadiponectinemia may be a marker for systemic atherosclerotic disease.