Serum adiponectin in elderly men does not correlate with fracture risk

Recent evidence suggests that adiponectin may play a role in bone metabolism, but studies of the correlation between serum adiponectin and bone mineral density (BMD) have given conflicting results, and the impact on fracture risk is unknown.

Our objective was to investigate the association between serum adiponectin levels and BMD and fracture risk. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We used regression analyses to estimate the relationship between adiponectin and BMD in the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors cohort of 441 men and 457 women aged 70 yr. The association was thereafter analyzed in the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men (ULSAM), in which adiponectin was analyzed at age 70 yr and BMD at 82 yr in 507 men. Fractures in the ULSAM were documented in 314 men during 15 yr follow-up. Cox regression analysis was used to determine the risk of fracture according to serum adiponectin levels.

In multivariable analysis a negative association between adiponectin and BMD was found in both cohorts. When individuals in the highest quintile of adiponectin were compared with those in the lowest quintile, adjusted BMD was 9.7% lower at the lumbar spine, 7.1% lower at the proximal femur, and 5.2% lower for total body in the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (P < 0.001 for all three), and 8.1, 5.1, and 4.1% (P < 0.003 for all three), respectively, in the ULSAM. However, the hazard ratio for fracture per 1 sd of serum adiponectin was 0.99 (95% confidence interval 0.89-1.11).

Although adiponectin was a negative determinant of BMD in two independent cohorts, it was not associated with fracture risk in men.