Serum Total Adiponectin and its Relationship with Glycemic Control ad Markers of Lipoprotein Metabolism in Nigerians with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Adiponectin is a hormone that is mostly and abundantly produced by the adipocytes and directly sensitizes the body to insulin. Due to the increasing prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in sub-Saharan Africa, serum adiponectin has attracted much attention because of its anti-diabetic, anti-atherogenic and anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the relationship between serum adiponectin and the metabolic control of plasma glucose and lipids among type 2 diabetic patients. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of Type 2 diabetic adult Nigerian males and females with age and sex-matched non-diabetic controls. Fasting serum total adiponectin, triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), plasma glucose (FPG) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1C) were determined. Dyslipidemia was defined based on the third report of National Cholesterol Education Programme, Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEPATP III). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 19 and p<0.05 was considered to be significant. Results: One hundred and eighty subjects (106 females and 74 males) were recruited for the study. Type 2 diabetes mellitus subjects were 110 (61.1%) with mean age of 54.5yrs while healthy non-diabetic controls were 70 (38.9%) with the mean age of 51.8yrs. The prevalence of hypoadiponectinemia T2DM subjects was (82.4%) with a (mean value of 10.71 +/- 1.85ng/ml) and 17.6% among the controls (mean value 21.14 +/- 1.98ng/ml) after log transformation. The correlation coefficients between serum adiponectin and lipid profile parameters, HbA1C and FPG among the subjects were: TG (r=-0.022, p=0.045), TC (r=-0.014, p=0.114), HDL-C (r=0.01, p=0.808), LDL-C (r=-0.007, p=0.267), HbA1C (r=-0.24, p=0.001), FPG (r=-0.22, p=0.003). There were weak but significant negative correlations of adiponectin with FPG and HbA1C. There were weak negative correlations between serum adiponectin and the lipid profile parameters except HDL-C. Conclusion: Serum adiponectin level was significantly lower among type 2 diabetic Nigerians than their control (non-diabetic) counterparts.