Resistin is a risk factor for all-cause mortality in elderly Finnish population: A prospective study in the OPERA cohort

Abstract

Objective Resistin is a small, cysteine-rich proinflammatory molecule that is primarily secreted by peripheral blood mononuclear cells and macrophages in humans. Previous studies have shown resistin to participate in various pathological processes including atherosclerosis and cancer progression but not many studies have assessed the role of resistin as a risk factor for all-cause mortality. The objective of this prospective study was to evaluate whether resistin predicts mortality among elderly Finnish people. Methods The study population consisted of 599 elderly (71.7 ± 5.4 years) patients and the follow-up was approximately six years. A thorough clinical examination including anthropometric and other clinical measurements such as blood pressure as well as various laboratory parameters (including resistin) was conducted at baseline. Results After the follow-up, 65 (11%) of the patients died. Resistin was a significant risk factor for all-cause mortality (HR 3.02, 95% CI: 1.64–5.56, p<0.001) when the highest tertile was compared to the lowest. Resistin remained as a significant risk factor even after adjusting for various covariates such as age, sex, systolic blood pressure, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, medications (antihypertensive, lipid-lowering, glucose-lowering), hsCRP and leisure time physical activity. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for resistin demonstrated area under the curve (AUC) of 0.656 (95% CI: 0.577–0.734), p<0.001 and an optimal cutoff value of 12.88 ng/ml. Conclusions Our results indicate that resistin is a significant risk factor for all-cause mortality among elderly Finnish subjects, independent from traditional cardiovascular risk factors.

Adiponectin, Leptin, and Resistin and the Risk of Dementia

“…The decreased risk of dementia in persons with higher resistin levels may also be explained by a higher risk of mortality in those persons due to other age-related diseases. An increased risk of all-cause mortality, independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, was indeed reported by previous studies, suggestively due to the involvement of resistin in inflammatory processes ( 21 ). In the present study, however, resistin was not associated with mortality in a post hoc analysis (data not shown).…”

Resistin as a risk factor for all-cause (and cardiovascular) death in the general population

“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the increased risk of cardiovascular death attributable to resistin has been verified in the general population. Resistin had been pointed out as a risk factor for all-cause mortality in the aged population 9 , but this study included younger people and detected an increase of cardiovascular mortality as an effect of high resistin levels. The inclusion of a younger general population, in which cardiovascular mortality is more relevant than other causes of death, may have helped to detect the risk of cardiovascular death.…”

“…However, to date the number of participants and the follow-up time of published studies has been insufficient to detect the effect of resistin on cardiovascular mortality. This had only been detected by studying population groups at high risk of death, either through meta-analysis of patients with cardiovascular diseases over 60 years of age 21 , either by following a cohort of people over 70 years of age 9 , or in patients with diabetes over 60 years of age years 22 . This is the first study to demonstrate the effect of resistin on cardiovascular mortality in the general population.…”

“…Although controversy persists regarding its relationship with diabetes or insulin resistance 8 . One of the few follow-up studies recruited 599 aged people and concluded that resistin is a risk factor for mortality in the aged population 9 . An inflammatory pathway has recently been described which includes resistin together with other cytokines and which improves the prediction of death in people with type 2 diabetes 10 .…”

The effect of Psidium guajava hydroalcoholic extract on reducing the expression of Resistin and TNF-α genes in articular chondrocytes of patients with knee osteoarthritis

“…Resistin is found in adipocytes and various cells, including peripheral blood mononuclear cells, macrophages, and bone marrow cells, and is involved in the development of inflammatory conditions in humans. However, in humans, only small amounts of resistin are secreted from adipose tissue (9). But it has been found that with obesity and increased visceral fat, more resistin is expressed in cells in macrophages, liver, spleen, and lungs.…”