Abstract
BACKGROUND: Low adiponectin levels are associated with increased insulin resistance (IR) and arterial stiffness in hypertensive patients, but higher adiponectin levels are also found in heart failure patients. This discrepancy has not been fully resolved, but it may be related to the adiponectin gene (ADIPOQ) which regulates adiponectin production. We aimed to investigate whether the relationship between adiponectin and arterial stiffness is associated with ADIPOQ rs1501299 G/T polymorphism in nondiabetic Korean men. METHODS: In nondiabetic men without disease (n = 301), anthropometric parameters, lipid profiles, IR, circulating adiponectin, and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) were measured. rs1501299 G/T polymorphism was also analyzed. RESULTS: Circulating adiponectin levels were negatively correlated with baPWV and homeostatic model assessment-IR in the T allele carriers (n = 167), but this correlation was not observed in the GG subjects (n = 134). However, a positive correlation between baPWV and IR was observed in the GG subjects, but not in the T carriers. These patterns were maintained after the adjustment for confounding factors. A stepwise linear regression analysis revealed that circulating adiponectin and systolic blood pressure (BP) were the main influencing factors on baPWV levels in T carriers, but systolic BP, IR and age were the main contributors to increased baPWV levels in the GG subjects. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the relationship between circulating adiponectin and arterial stiffness is different according to ADIPOQ rs1501299 G/T polymorphism, and suggests that T allele is more susceptible to the influence of adiponectin on arterial stiffness than GG homozygotes. This information may prove to be useful for personal-based early prevention and management of atherosclerotic risk.