A longitudinal analysis of serum adiponectin levels and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women in Taiwan

Abstract

Since bone and fat mass are derived from mesenchyme in early development, adipokines secreted by adipose tissue may have an effect on bone metabolism. The relationship between adiponectin and bone mineral density (BMD) has been inconsistent in previous reports, with results being dependent on age, gender, menopausal status and bone sites. We investigated the relationship between serum adiponectin levels and the BMD of proximal femur and vertebrae bones in a 96-week longitudinal study of post-menopausal women with repeated measures of both. Linear regression models were used to determine the relation between adiponectin and BMD at each time point cross-sectionally, and a generalized estimating equation (GEE) model was used to investigate the longitudinal trends. Among 431 subjects, 376 (87%) provided baseline adiponectin measurements and 373 provided more than two measurements for longitudinal analysis. The means of serum adiponectin and BMD decreased with time. In linear regression models, adiponectin at baseline, the 48th week and the 96th week appeared to be inversely associated with BMD of proximal femur bone, but not lumbar spine after adjusting for age and various confounders. However, they all turn insignificant with further adjustment of body mass index. The inverse association between adiponectin and BMD of proximal femur is substantiated by all generalized equation models. Before adding the BMI in the model, the increase of 1 mg/dL of adiponectin can accelerate the decrease of proximal femur BMD by 0.001 (SE = 0.0004, p = 0.008). With BMI in the model, the drop rate was 0.0008 (SE = 0.0004, p = 0.026) and remained similar with further adjustment of two bone turnover markers. In this longitudinal analysis with both adiponectin and BMD measured at three time points, we demonstrate that with the increase of adiponectin level, the decline of proximal femur BMD in postmenopausal women accelerated during a period of 96 weeks.

Association of bone mineral density with prediabetes risk among African-American and European-American adult offspring of parents with type 2 diabetes

“…Taken together, our findings of lower baseline adiponectin levels in progressors to prediabetes versus nonprogressors, an inverse correlation between adiponectin and BMD, and a positive association between BMD and incident prediabetes, implicate adiponectin as a possible mediator of the link between BMD and prediabetes risk. Previous reports have also shown a negative correlation between adiponectin and BMD ( 32 , 33 ). The mechanisms underlying the negative association between adiponectin and BMD are unclear, but increased bone marrow adipogenesis with associated increase in adiponectin production has been proposed to mediate decreased BMD ( 34 , 35 ).…”

The Positive Association of Plasma Levels of Vitamin C and Inverse Association of VCAM-1 and Total Adiponectin with Bone Mineral Density in Subjects with Diabetes

“…This study reports a significant association between total adiponectin and the BMD of the lumbar spine, right femur, and left femur. Previous studies have also reported an association between adiponectin and the lumbar spine but not the femurs, nor all three [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Another study reported that increasing levels of adiponectin and lower BMD levels were positively associated with osteocalcin, a biomarker of bone resorption [ 44 ].…”

“…Adiponectin stimulates the osteoclast bone-resorbing RANK pathway [ 24 , 25 ]. Clinical studies report a negative correlation between circulating total adiponectin levels and the BMD of various skeletal sites [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ].…”

Association of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and bone mineral density: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study

“…Several of the reviewed studies suggested that insulin levels might partially mediate the positive association between DM2 and increased BMD [ 33 – 35 ]. Individuals with DM2 typically exhibit an excess of insulin.…”