Studies on serum adiponectin level in patients with type 2 diabetes and its relation to insulin resistance

Objective To survey the serum level changes of adiponectin in type-2 diabetes and coronary heart diseases (CHD), and analyse the relationship of the diabetes′ serum adiponectin levels with triglycerides (TG), body mass indexes (BMI), and insulin resistance. Methods Thirty-four type 2 diabetic patients and 35 patients with coronary heart disease and 30 type 2 diabetic patients with coronary heart disease and 30 healthy people were investigated. The serum adiponectin level was assayed by RIA. Meanwhile, TG and FINS and BMI were measured, and HOMA-IR index was calculated. Results The levels of serum adiponectin both in type 2 diabetic group and in CHD group were lower than those in control. The level of serum adiponectin in the group which had both type 2 diabetes and CHD was lower than that in type 2 diabetic group [(11±3) μg/ml vs (29±10) μg/ml, P0.01]; while, the HOMA-IR index was lower in the group which had both type 2 diabetes and CHD than that in the type 2 diabetic group [(1.0±0.5) vs (1.3±0.7), P0.05]; The serum level of adiponectin in the group of type 2 diabetes showed negative correlation with BMI and significantly negative correlation with HOMA-IR index. Multiple linear regression showed that the level of serum adiponectin only related with HOMA-IR. Conclusion The serum levels of adiponectin both in type 2 diabetic group and in CHD group were significantly decreased. The level of serum adiponectin in the group of type 2 diabetes with CHD is the lowest among the three groups. It is negatively related to HOMA-IR. This suggested that the serum level of adiponectin relate to insulin resistance and macrovascular disease in type 2 diabetic patients.