Ethnic differences in serum adipokine and C-reactive protein levels: the multiethnic cohort

Abstract

Background Ethnic disparities in metabolic disease risk may be the result of differences in circulating adipokines and inflammatory markers related to ethnic variations in obesity and body fat distribution. Subjects/Methods In a cross-sectional design, we compared serum levels of leptin, adiponectin, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in control subjects (321 men and 930 women) from two nested case-control studies conducted within the Multiethnic Cohort Study consisting of whites, Japanese Americans (JA), Latinos, African Americans (AA), and Native Hawaiians (NH). General linear models were applied to evaluate ethnic differences in log-transformed serum biomarker levels before and after adjusting for body mass index (BMI) at cohort entry. Results In comparison to whites, significant ethnic differences were observed for all biomarkers except TNF-α. JA men and women had significantly lower leptin and CRP levels than whites and JA women also had lower adiponectin levels. Leptin was significantly higher in AA women (p<0.01), adiponectin was significantly lower in AA men and women (p=0.02 and p<0.001), and CRP and IL-6 were significantly higher in AA men and women. Lower adiponectin (p<0.0001) and CRP (p=0.03) levels were the only biomarkers in NH women that differed from whites; no statistically significant differences were seen for NH men and for Latino men and women. When adjusted for BMI at cohort entry, the differences between the lowest and highest values across ethnic groups decreased for all biomarkers except adiponectin in men indicating that ethnic differences were partially due to weight status. Conclusions These findings demonstrate ethnic variations in circulating adipokine and CRP levels before and after adjustment for BMI. Given the limitation of BMI as a general measure of obesity, further investigation with visceral and subcutaneous adiposity measures are warranted to elucidate ethnicity-related differences in adiposity in relation to disparities in obesity-related disease risk.

Metabolic syndrome and the seminal cytokine network in morbidly obese males

“…These data highlight a specific low-grade inflammation in obesity/MetS, with the majority of cytokine levels tested not being increased in blood. However, the reports show some variation related to gender (Saltevo et al, 2008), ethnicity (Morimoto et al, 2014), sample size (Schipper et al, 2010;Phillips & Perry, 2013), clinical heterogeneity of MetS (Phillips & Perry, 2013), and different definitions of MetS (Surendar et al, 2011;Tisato et al, 2013). Specifically, increased waist circumference is mandatory in the IDF definition, while being just one facultative parameter in the NCEP definition (Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults, 2001;Alberti et al, 2009).…”

“…More recently, an association of reduced male fertility and MetS has been proposed (Michalakis et al, 2013). Numerous studies have shown a state of systemic low-grade inflammation and increased oxidative stress in MetS (Pickup et al, 1997;Saltevo et al, 2008;Bremer et al, 2011;Morimoto et al, 2014).…”

The Interplay Between Sex, Ethnicity, and Adipose Tissue Characteristics

“…However, most of these A considerable number of studies have studied variations in the endocrine function of adipose tissue between ethnicities. Despite a favorable fat distribution, NH black women have lower circulating total adiponectin and higher leptin than white women, matched for BMI or percent body fat [9,[77][78][79][80][81][82][83]. One study further investigated levels of the high molecular weight, the most active form of adiponectin, which are also lower in black women after adjustment for potential confounders [84].…”

Emerging Markers of Atherosclerosis Before and After Bariatric Surgery

“…It is well established that adiponectin levels are higher in women and lean individuals [3,4]. Moreover, a recent study demonstrated ethnic variations in circulating adipokine including adiponectin levels before and after adjustment for BMI [5]. In this context, it is suggested that hypoadiponectinemia would define by using sex and ethnic-specific levels.…”