Inverse correlation between serum adiponectin level and albuminuria in pregnancy-induced hypertension patients

Adiponectin protects against the development of albuminuria in rodent experiments and patients with diabetic kidney disease. However, it is not clear whether higher circulating adiponectin levels have the same effect in patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH). Urine albumin excretion (UAE) is an easy to use test and a powerful index for routine management of PIH patients. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum total adiponectin and UAE in PIH patients. A total of 156 PIH patients were enrolled and divided into three groups according to adiponectin tertiles. UAE level was compared among three groups. Simple and multiple regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between clinical parameters and UAE. The mean UAE values tended to decrease according to adiponectin tertiles (Tertile 1, 164.8 μg/min; Tertile 2, 151.0 μg/min; and Tertile 3, 134.5 μg/min). Univariate analysis showed that body mass index, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglyceride, uric acid, and adiponectin were significantly associated with UAE. Moreover, only body mass index, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, and adiponectin were correlated with UAE in the multivariate model. Adiponectin was found to be a significant determinant for decreased UAE (β = -0.124, P< 0.01), suggesting that adiponectin might be involved in the development of albuminuria in PIH. Further studies are needed to unravel the underlying mechanisms and to identify if adiponectin would be a potential therapeutic target to decrease albuminuria in PIH.