Ethnic differences in the relationship between adiponectin and insulin sensitivity in South Asian and Caucasian women.

OBJECTIVE

To assess whether lower adiponectin concentrations in South Asian Indians may be responsible for their greater degree of insulin resistance.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Insulin-mediated glucose uptake and plasma total and high molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin concentrations were quantified in 52 women of South Asian (SA) and Caucasian (CAU) ancestry and compared.

RESULTS

Mean +/- SD total (2,965 +/- 1,278 vs. 4,235 +/- 160 ng/ml) and HMW (1,001 +/- 352 vs. 1,591 +/- 854 ng/ml) adiponectin were lower in SAs than CAUs (P < 0.005). Insulin-resistant CAUs (CAU-IR) had lower total (2,665 +/- 1,040 vs. 5,133 +/- 1,086 ng/ml) and HMW (987 +/- 479 vs. 1,935 +/- 838 ng/ml) adiponectin than insulin-sensitive CAUs (CAU-IS) (P < 0.01), but there were no significant differences between insulin-resistant (SA-IR) and insulin-sensitive (SA-IS) SAs. HMW adiponectin did not differ between SA-IR and CAU-IR, but SA-IS had significantly lower adiponectin concentrations than CAU-IS.

CONCLUSIONS

Insulin resistance status is not associated with significantly lower levels of adiponectin in these SA women, in contrast to the CAU women.