Serum Adiponectin and Indices of Cardiovascular Risk in Young Women with Excessive Body Mass

Adiponectin reduces oxidative stress, the release of C-reactive protein and influences on the process of atherogenesis reducing lipid accumulation in the blood vessels. The findings on the association of adiponectin with cardiovascular risk are contradictory. This study aimed to assess the relationship between adiponectin and indices of cardiovascular risk in women with excessive body mass. Adiponectin, hsCRP and lipids were measured in blood samples obtained from normoglycemic women with excessive body mass (n=52;BMI≥25 kg/m(2)) aged 25-40 yrs and age-matched healthy controls (n=36; BMI<25kg/m(2)). All subjects underwent blood pressure examination and anthropometric measurements. Median concentration of adiponectin in the serum in women with excessive body mass was significantly lower than in women with normal weight (10,8 vs 15,5 µg/ml; p<0,01). Similarly, median serum concentration of triglycerides, hsCRP and blood pressure values were significantly higher and HDL-cholesterol significantly lower in women with BMI≥25 kg/m(2) in comparison to these with normal BMI, however only HDL-C and hsCRP were found to be beyond widely accepted cut-offs. Hypoadiponectinemia in women with excessive body mass (adiponectin concentration below the 5(th) percentile in the control group) was associated predominantly with abnormally increased median values of hsCRP and blood pressure. Concentrations of total cholesterol, non-HDL-C and LDL-C were also significantly higher in women with excessive body mass and hypoadiponectinemia, however still within the reference range. Our results suggest that adiponectin may be used as a prognostic marker of cardiovascular risk in women with excessive body mass.