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The association between body fat, adiponectin and arterial stiffness

23 Mar 2009


This study by Snijder et al. aimed to determine the association between adiponectin and arterial stiffness and to study whether adiponectin can explain the association between body composition and arterial stiffness. Participants were from the Hoorn Study, a population-based study in the Netherlands that began in 1989 to study glucose metabolism and its consequences. This study represented the third follow-up examination of 456 participants from the Hoorn Study. The participants were given a medical examination including a blood sample taken from all participants after an overnight fast to measure adiponectin levels. Body composition was determined by whole body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to measure total percentage body fat, and regional fat and lean soft tissue mass of the trunk and legs. Arterial stiffness was measured by ultrasound. Trunk fat mass was found negatively and leg fat mass was found positively associated with arterial stiffness, after adjustment for each other, age and lean mass. Higher adiponectin was found to be associated with decreased peripheral arterial stiffness, but the association between trunk and leg fat with peripheral arterial stiffness was only minimally explained by adiponectin levels. The study concluded that adiponectin levels only partially explain arterial stiffness, and factors other than adiponectin may be more important in the mechanisms by which abdominal obesity leads to arterial stiffness. Snijder, M.B., Flyvbjerg, A., Stehouwer, C.D.A., Frystyk, J., Henry, R.M.A., Seidell, J.C. Heine, R.J., Dekker, J.M. European Journal of Endocrinology 2009 160: 387-395 DOI: 10.1530/EJE-08-0817