Woodward et al. (2017) reviewed the effects of http://www.guidetopharmacology.org/GRAC/LigandDisplayForward?ligandId=3726 on the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD) by considering anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant and anti‐apoptotic roles. However, due to the complexity of the mechanisms regulating adiponectin biosynthesis in human adipose tissue (AT), I would suggest that the relationship between serum adiponectin and CVD is uncertain. To gain better clarity regarding this relationship, it is important to consider the protective effect of adiponectin for CVD and the presence of increased serum adiponectin in advanced stage CVD simultaneously. In this respect, below, I highlight some recent epidemiological reports, which support greater understanding of the complicated relationship between serum adiponectin and CVD.
Kyrou et al. (2017) conducted a prospective study to assess the effect of circulating adiponectin on cardiovascular events in CVD. Relative risk (RR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] of circulating total adiponectin by one unit increase for incident CVD was 0.64 (0.42–0.96), and the significance was kept by adjusting circulating http://www.guidetopharmacology.org/GRAC/ObjectDisplayForward?objectId=1708 and http://www.guidetopharmacology.org/GRAC/FamilyDisplayForward?familyId=906. In contrast, there is a U‐shaped association between total and high‐molecular‐weight (HMW) adiponectin and incident CVD by longitudinal study with median follow‐up of 10.5 years (Kizer et al., 2013). In this study, several multivariate models were presented by adjusting more than 10 independent confounders to calculate hazard ratio (HR). The authors concluded with recognition of the risk of increased adiponectin (total and HMW) for incident CVD, although the absolute value of HR is under 1.2.
Sook Lee et al. (2013) conducted a systematic review with meta‐analysis to assess the effect of plasma adiponectin levels on coronary heart disease (CHD) events. The pooled RR (95% CI) of adiponectin for CHD events was 1.03 (1.00–1.06). Although no significant association was observed between adiponectin levels and CHD events, higher circulating adiponectin levels was associated with an increased risk of CHD recurrence and all‐cause CVD mortality. In sum, the preventive or adverse effect of circulating total adiponectin for incident CVD should be specified by considering adiponectin biosynthesis in human AT in several stages of CVD.
Conflict of interest
The author declares no conflicts of interest.
Kawada, T. (2018) Serum adiponectin and cardiovascular disease: mechanism of the association. British Journal of Pharmacology, 175: 3184 https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.14378.
References
- Kizer JR, Benkeser D, Arnold AM, Djousse L, Zieman SJ, Mukamal KJ et al (2013). Total and high‐molecular‐weight adiponectin and risk of coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke in older adults. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 98: 255–263. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
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