Adiponectin and TNFα in relation to glucometabolic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background:The correlation of adiponectin and serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) with glucometabolic parameters in diabetes mellitus (DM) needs further studies. We aimed in this study to evaluate the relationship between adiponectin and TNF alpha with glucometabolic parameters in patients with type 2 DM (T2DM).Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional study in the Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. The sample size was 117 from the diabetes clinic of King Abdul-Aziz University hospital through the convenience sampling technique. Subjects were grouped into control (healthy) subjects (53) with no chronic diseases and the diabetic group (64) with confirmed T2DM. Socio-demographic data were collected along with the serum blood sample to analyze the variables.Results:Adiponectin was significantly high in healthy subjects compared to the diabetic group (control: 14.4 +/- 4.3, T2DM: 11.0 +/- 4.1, P = 0.000), while TNF alpha was higher in the T2DM group (7.8 +/- 2.7) than in the control group (6.6 +/- 2.9, P = 0.024). TNF alpha was negatively correlated with adiponectin in the control group (-0.279) and in diabetic subjects (-0.311) and positively correlated with HbA1c in the diabetic group (0.319) and triglycerides (0.252). Adiponectin was positively correlated with HDL in the control group (0.252) and in diabetic subjects (0.326). There was an inverse correlation between TNF alpha and adiponectin.Conclusion:Adiponectin is higher in healthy subjects than in diabetic patients, while TNF alpha is higher in diabetic patients. In addition, adiponectin is positively correlated with HDL in healthy as well as diabetic patients. TNF alpha is positively correlated with HbA1c and triglycerides.