Low serum adiponectin levels are associated with systemic organ failure in acute pancreatitis

Obesity markedly increases the risk of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP), possibly through the action of adipokines. We tested the hypothesis that serum adiponectin, the primary anti-inflammatory adipokine, is associated with functional polymorphisms in the adiponectin gene (ADIPOQ) and inversely associated with SAP.

Severe AP was defined as the presence of remote organ failure. ADIPOQ polymorphisms rs2241766T>G and rs1501299G>T were evaluated by DNA sequencing. Serum samples were assayed using a Luminex assay (Luminex, Austin, Tex).

One hundred thirty-three patients with AP and 94 healthy controls were ascertained. Adiponectin levels were measured in 60 patients with early serum samples (27 patients with mild AP and 33 patients with SAP). Adiponectin levels from days 1 to 3 were inversely correlated with body mass index (BMI) (rho = -0.49; P = 0.002) and were significantly lower for patients with SAP (median, 3.74 microg/mL) than those with mild AP (6.58 microg/mL; P = 0.02). Neither ADIPOQ polymorphism affected susceptibility to or severity of AP. A receiver operating characteristics curve using adiponectin levels as the severity predictor provided an area under the curve of 0.75.

Serum adiponectin levels in patients with AP are inversely correlated with BMI and organ dysfunction. Further studies are needed to determine whether adiponectin is a marker of low BMI or if it provides significant protection from SAP.