Urinary adiponectin excretion rises with increasing albuminuria in type 1 diabetes

Abstract Aim Urinary adiponectin (u-adiponectin) excretion has been suggested to reflect early glomerular damage. Inspired by this, we studied the levels of u-adiponectin in type 1 diabetic patients with different levels of urinary albumin excretion (UAE). Methods U-adiponectin was analysed by ELISA in type 1 diabetic patients: Fifty-eight with normoalbuminuria (  300 mg/24 h). For comparison, a control group of 55 healthy individuals was included. Results U-adiponectin increased with increasing levels of UAE ( p 1c (r 2 2  = 0.57, p 2  = 0.26, p 1c . Furthermore, u-adiponectin was associated with markers of tubular damage ( p Conclusion U-adiponectin rises with increasing levels of UAE in patients with type 1 diabetes. This is in accordance with the hypothesis that loss of adiponectin may reflect glomerular and/or tubular damage.