Effects of Body Fat on the Associations of High-Molecular-Weight Adiponectin, Leptin and Soluble Leptin Receptor with Metabolic Syndrome in Chinese

Background: Little is known regarding the associations between high-molecular-weight (HMW-) adiponectin, leptin and soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Chinese. Also few studies elucidate the effects of inflammation and body fat mass on the relations. Methods: Plasma HMW-adiponectin, leptin and sOB-R were measured among 1055 Chinese men and women (35 similar to 54 yrs). Whole body and trunk fat mass were determined by Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. MetS was defined by the updated NCEP/ATPIII criterion for Asian-Americans. Results: HMW-adiponectin was inversely associated with MetS in multivariate model including fat mass index (FMI), inflammatory markers, leptin and sOB-R (OR in the highest quartile =0.30, 95%CI 0.18 similar to 0.50, P<.0001). Plasma sOB-R was also inversely associated with MetS independent of body fatness and inflammatory markers, whereas the association was somewhat attenuated after adjusting HMW-adiponectin (OR for the highest quartile =0.78, 95%CI 0.47 similar to 1.32, P = 0.15). In contrast, leptin was associated with increased odds of MetS independent of inflammatory markers, HMW-adiponectin, and sOB-R (OR for the highest quartile =2.64, 95%CI 1.35 similar to 5.18, P = 0.006), although further adjustment for FMI abolished this association. Conclusions: HMW-adiponectin exhibited strong inverse associations with MetS independent of body composition, inflammation, leptin and sOB-R; while the associations of leptin and sOB-R were largely explained by fat mass or HMW-adiponectin, respectively.