Association between plasma adiponectin and risk of myocardial infarction in Asian Indian patient with diabetes

Context: Recent epidemiological studies have established association of adiponectin with insulin resistance and cardiovascular risk factors. However, newer reports state an ethnic difference in this association. Objectives: The present study was done to assess the association between plasma adiponectin levels and coronary event in Asian Indian patients with diabetes. The relation between plasma adiponectin and various cardiovascular risk factors in an acute coronary event was also studied. Methodology: The prospective study was conducted at a tertiary care center in Bangalore, India. Three groups of 30 patients-Patients with diabetes with Myocardial Infarction (MI), Patients with diabetes without MI and controls (age and sex matched non-patients with diabetes)- were included in the study. The association between plasma adiponectin level and MI in patients with diabetes was studied in comparison to patients with diabetes without MI. Statistical analysis used: Analysis of Variance, Spearman Correlation. Results: Patients with diabetes with MI had significantly lower plasma adiponectin when compared to patients with diabetes without MI which in turn was lower than in normal subjects (P<.001). Plasma adiponectin was significantly correlated with abdominal obesity (r=-.31), fasting glucose level (r=-.61), glycated haemoglobin (r=-.63) and triglycerides (r=-.54) (all P<.001). There was no significant correlation between plasma adiponectin levels and High Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol in the present study. Conclusions: The present study and the recent evidence suggest that cross-talk between inflammatory signalling pathways and insulin signalling pathways may result in insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction that synergize to predispose to cardiovascular disorders.