The Association Between Adiponectin and Diabetes in the Korean Population

Jee, Sun Ha; Lee, Hee Yeon; Lee, Sun Ju; Yun, Ji Eun; Jee, Eun Jung; Song, Hye Yun; Kim, Sang Yeun; Park, Jungyong; Kim, Hyon Suk

Abstract

BACKGROUND: As indicators of obesity, waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), and adiponectin are well known risk factor for diabetes mellitus. The objectives of this study were to measure the independent association between these obesity indicators and diabetes and to examine the combined effect of these indicators on diabetes in a Korean population.
METHODS
The WC, BMI, and serum adiponectin were measured in 6,505 healthy Koreans and were classified into tertile groups for men and women. The independent and combined associations of the obesity indicators with diabetes were measured using logistic regression analyses. Diabetes was defined as fasting serum glucose greater than 126 mg/dL or taking medication.
RESULTS
Levels of adiponectin were inversely associated with BMI and WC and directly associated with age and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) cholesterol (P <0.001). After adjusting for age, WC, and other lifestyle factors, low levels of adiponectin were associated with an increased prevalence of diabetes. Further adjustment for HDL cholesterol and triglyceride attenuated this association in both men and women. The best cut-off value of adiponectin in terms of identifying the presence of diabetes was 5.5 /ml with a sensitivity and specificity of 46.7% and 63.9% for men and 9.5 /ml with a sensitivity and specificity of 68.2% and 55.2 for women.
CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that adiponectin was associated with diabetes. The association was independent of WC and was partly modified by HDL and triglyceride. There were no effect modifications of adiponectin with WC on diabetes.