Plasma adiponectin as a predictive factor of survival after a bypass operation for peripheral arterial disease

We investigated an association between adiponectin and long-term survival in patients requiring an arterial bypass operation for peripheral arterial disease.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit was used to measure plasma adiponectin levels in 49 patients (38 men, 11 women) before they underwent an arterial bypass operation. Median patient age was 70 years (range, 49-90 years). The study excluded patients with hemodialysis requirement, heart failure, malignant neoplasm, or collagen disease. The symptoms at the first visit were severe intermittent claudication in 27 patients (55%) and critical limb ischemia with rest pain or ulcer, or both, in 22 (45%).

Plasma adiponectin levels were a mean 7.8 +/- 5.3 microg/mL (range, 1.0-25.2 microg/mL). Multiple regression analyses revealed that plasma adiponectin was positively correlated with age (r = 0.49, P = .0003) and negatively correlated with body mass index (r = -0.51, P = .0002) and systolic blood pressure (r = -0.41, P = .0059). The Cox proportional hazards model revealed that plasma adiponectin (hazard ratio, 1.30; P = .03) and critical limb ischemia (hazard ratio, 16.67; P = .047) were significant independent predictors of patient survival after a bypass operation.

Plasma adiponectin could be indicative of mortality after a bypass operation for patients with advanced peripheral arterial disease.