Adiponectin in coronary heart disease and newly diagnosed impaired glucose tolerance

Adiponectin is produced by adipose tissue and regarded as protective hormone for diabetes and coronary heart disease (CHD). Its role in heart failure is discussed controversially.

In this study, 1015 consecutive patients admitted for acute (n = 149) or elective (n = 866) coronary angiography were enrolled. Patients with known diabetes mellitus (DM) were excluded. All patients were classified by oral glucose tolerance test (oGTT) according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria and by the results of coronary angiography as no/minor coronary heart disease (CHD), single-vessel disease (1-VD), double-vessel disease (2-VD) or triple-vessel disease (3-VD), by New York Heart Association (NYHA) criteria and by echocardiography for heart failure. Adiponectin and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels were measured in all patients.

Adiponectin was higher in patients with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) (13.65 ± 10.31 mg/l) compared to impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) (11.12 ± 7.5, p < 0.001) or diabetes (11.22 ± 7.63, p < 0.001). There was a stepwise decrease in adiponectin from no CHD (18.16 ± 12.49 mg/L) to minor CHD (16.01 ± 11.42) to 1-VD (12.18 ± 8.8, p < 0.001 to no/minor CHD) to 2- and 3-VD (10.68 ± 7.5, p < 0.001 to no/minor CHD, p = 0.004 to 1-VD). Patients with heart failure NYHA III (17.4 ± 10.27) had higher adiponectin levels compared to NYHA II (12.94 ± 9.41, p < 0.001 to NYHA III) and NYHA I (10.3 ± 7.75, p < 0.001 to NYHA III/II). In this line, adiponectin levels were positively correlated to NT-proBNP levels (r = 0.303), and patients with ejection fraction (EF) < 50% had higher adiponectin levels than those with EF > 50% (14.96 ± 4.35 to 11.78 ± 3.71, p = 0.006).

Adiponectin levels are inversely correlated to progressing CHD and glucose intolerance but positively correlated to increasing heart failure.