Abstract
At present, the association between adiponectin and sex hormones in women is controversial.
Recent studies suggest that it is high–molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin and the
HMW to total adiponectin ratio rather than total adiponectin that are associated with
antiatherogenic activities, insulin sensitivity, metabolic syndrome, and prediction
of cardiovascular events. The present study aimed to investigate whether measuring
HMW adiponectin and the HMW to total adiponectin ratio rather than total adiponectin
might be more useful to detect an association between circulating female sex steroids
and adipocytokines. In a clinical trial, we investigated the associations of total
adiponectin, HMW adiponectin, and the HMW to adiponectin ratio with several androgens
and estradiol in 36 healthy premenopausal women with regular cycles. No association
between the investigated sex hormones and adiponectin was observed. The HMW adiponectin
was negatively correlated with estradiol after adjustment for age and body mass index.
The HMW to total adiponectin ratio was significantly negatively associated with testosterone,
free testosterone, and androstenedione. The testosterone to estradiol ratio, as a
parameter for the estrogen-androgen balance, was not associated with adiponectin or
the HMW isoform. In conclusion, there is a negative association between estradiol
and HMW adiponectin, and between testosterone, free testosterone, and androstenedione
and the HMW to adiponectin ratio. Thus, one mechanism whereby female sex steroids
may influence the cardiovascular risk of women could be alteration of the relationship
between HMW and total adiponectin concentrations in plasma.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 25, 2010
Accepted:
December 9,
2009
Received:
July 24,
2009
Footnotes
The study has been approved by the local ethical committee. Participants gave their consent prior to inclusion.
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
