Genetic determination of adiponectin and its relationship with body fat topography in multigenerational families of African heritage

Adiponectin, an adipose-specific protein, is negatively associated with adiposity, insulin sensitivity, and diabetes. Very few studies have examined the role of heredity in the regulation of adiponectin and its association with body fat among individuals of African heritage. Thus, we measured fasting serum adiponectin levels by radioimmunoassay and body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in 402 individuals aged 18 to 103 years belonging to 7 multigenerational families of African heritage in the relatively homogeneous island population of Tobago. Heritability of adiponectin was 33.2% (P < .01), and age, sex, and body mass index explained 23.4% of the variance in adiponectin. Sex-specific heritability was significant in men (heritability, 34%; P < .05), but not in women. The inverse associations between body mass index and percentage of body fat and adiponectin, independent of age and height, were much stronger in women (all P values <.001) than in men. However, percentage of trunk fat was consistently strongly associated with adiponectin in both men (r = −0.40, P < .001) and women (r = −0.44, P < .001), independent of age and height. This study suggests that genetic factors are a significant source of interindividual differences in circulating adiponectin among Afro-Caribbeans. Adiponectin may serve as a promising quantitative intermediate trait in studies designed to map the genes underlying diabetes and obesity in this population.