Plasma adiponectin: a predictor of coronary heart disease in hemodialysis patients--a Japanese prospective eight-year study.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Plasma adiponectin may play a protective role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in hemodialysis (HD) patients. We examined the effect of plasma adiponectin levels on the prognosis of the HD patients.

METHODS

68 HD patients (male:female = 38:30) were subjected to plasma adiponectin measurement in 1998 and followed up over 8 years.

RESULTS

Plasma adiponectin concentrations differed between male and female patients (9.3 vs. 15.7 microg/ml). The plasma adiponectin concentration as a whole was positively correlated with serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and negatively with serum creatinine and waist circumference. During an 8-year follow-up, the cardiac events occurred in 7 of 38 men and in 10 of 30 women. Cox's proportional hazard model analysis in a stepwise manner revealed that coronary heart disease (CHD) was associated with intact parathyroid hormone concentration, age, and the presence of diabetes in men whereas plasma adiponectin concentration was the most powerful single predictor in women. The impact of the plasma adiponectin concentration was strengthened by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. In the group with a lower plasma adiponectin concentration, CHD events were significantly increased in men (p = 0.043) and in women (p = 0.007).

CONCLUSION

Plasma adiponectin concentration may predict CHD outcomes in HD patients.