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 non-diabetic 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 [3.99-8.65] mug/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] microg/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.