Adiponectin is emerging as an important protein in the etiology of obesity and related metabolic disorders. The objectives of this study were to determine cross-sectional and prospective associations of adiponectin concentration with adiposity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in a population-based study of Native Canadians, a group experiencing dramatic increases in diabetes and CVD.
During the 1993-1995 baseline survey, samples for glucose, insulin, adiponectin, and lipids were collected after an overnight fast. Waist circumference and percent body fat were measured, and a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test was administered: n = 505 with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), 74 with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and 149 with diabetes. In 1998, 95 high-risk subjects, defined as those who, at baseline, had either IGT or NGT with an elevated 2-h glucose concentration (>/==" BORDER="0">7.0 mmol/l), participated in a follow-up examination using the protocol used at baseline.
After adjustment for covariates including percent body fat and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), adiponectin concentrations were significantly lower among men versus women (10.8 vs. 15.0 micro g/ml, P