Hypoadiponectinemia is associated with impaired glucose tolerance and coronary artery disease in non-diabetic men

Background Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but is not always recognized in the clinical setting. An anti-atherogenic adipocytokine, adiponectin, is decreased in type 2 diabetes mellitus, but its role in non-diabetic subjects has not been clarified. The hypothesis investigated in the present study was that plasma adiponectin levels correlate with IGT and coronary artery disease (CAD) in nondiabetic men. Methods and Results Glucose intolerance was evaluated by an oral glucose tolerance test and plasma adiponectin levels were measured in 232 non-diabetic men who underwent coronary angiography. Patients with IGT (n=102) had significantly lower adiponectin levels than those with normal glucose tolerance (n=130) (4.47 [3.23-6.39] vs 5.85 [3.99-8.651,mu g/ml, p=0.003). Plasma adiponectin levels were associated with IGT in multiple logistic regression analysis (odds ratio (OR) 0.623, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.397-0.980; p=0.041). Non-diabetic patients with CAD (n=122) had lower adiponectin levels than those without CAD (n=110) (4.60 [3.32-6.38] vs 6.08 [4.10-9.88],mu g/ml, p<0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated adiponectin independently correlated with the presence of CAD (OR 0.432, 95% CI 0.256-0.728; p=0.002). Conclusions Hypoadiponectinemia is associated with IGT and CAD in non-diabetic men, suggesting that the adiponectin level can provide valuable information regarding the risk of CAD even in non-diabetic subjects.