Objective: Recent evidence suggests that adiponectin may play a role in bone metabolism. Previous studies demonstrated that the adiponectin levels had a negative correlation with bone mineral density (BMD) in women. However, little is known about the relationship between adiponectin and BMD in men. The aim of this study was to determinate the relationship between the adiponectin levels and BMD in elderly men.
Design: Cross-sectional study including 92 healthy men aged 60-80 years.
Methods: Main outcome measures were the adiponectin levels estimated by RIA and BMD at lumbar spine and femoral neck using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results The negative correlation between adiponectin and BMD at the spine was r=-0.209, (P<0.05) and at the femoral neck was r=-0.237, (P<0.001). These correlations disappeared after adjustment for body mass index (BMI). When stratified by BMI, the relationship between BMD and adiponectin remained significant in the subgroup of participants with BMI >27 kg/m(2), but disappeared in men with BMI <or=27 kg/m(2). In multiple regression analysis, adiponectin was a significant determinant of BMD at the spine, not at the femoral neck, in those with BMI >27.
Conclusion: BMD is negatively associated with the adiponectin levels in men older than 60 years and this relationship is greater in those men with BMI >27, which suggests a plausible connection between bone and fat tissue.