Prevalence and Risk Factors of Plasma Adiponectin Deficiency: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Physical Examination...

Numerous studies have investigated adiponectin in disease populations, but no study has focused on the plasma adiponectin level, adiponectin deficiency, and its influencing factors in the population who have not yet developed disease symptoms.

The data of physical examination subjects who completed adiponectin detection in our hospital from 2020 to 2024 were included. The adiponectin levels in different age, genders, and subgroups were analyzed, and the indicators under adiponectin deficiency (<4 µg/mL in men and <5 µg/mL in women) were compared. The factors that might affect adiponectin deficiency were further included in multivariate logistic regression analysis. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to understand the possible risk factors for adiponectin deficiency.

A total of 11829 subjects were included in the study, and the overall rate of adiponectin deficiency was 12.06%. The adiponectin level was generally higher in women; however, there were no significant differences among the subgroups of hypoproteinemia, low HDL-C, and anemia. Besides, hyperglycemia (OR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.64-2.50), obesity (OR: 2.34, 95% CI: 1.87-2.91), hypertriglyceridemia (OR: 2.17, 95% CI: 1.89-2.48), low HDL-C (OR: 2.09, 95% CI: 1.66-2.65), increased PLT count (OR: 2.57, 95% CI: 1.57-4.50) and elevated ALT (OR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.24-1.76) are associated with higher adiponectin deficiency. However, no significant associations were observed between adiponectin deficiency and gender, blood pressure, or elevated LDL-C.

The adiponectin level is generally higher in women than in men except for subjects with anemia, hypoproteinemia, and low HDL-C. Overweight/obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL-C, hyperuricemia, hyperglycemia, elevated ALT, and increased PLT count may be the risk factors for adiponectin deficiency. When these risk factors are present, targeted adiponectin testing is recommended.