The Correlation Between Plasma Adiponectin Level and Severity Of Coronary Atherosclerosis in Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography (PAL'S CAP study)

To determine the correlation between plasma adiponectin level and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis in patients undergoing coronary angiography. Background: Adiponectin is a hormone secreted by adipocytes. There had been previous studies demonstrating that high plasma adiponectin concentrations were associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction. However, there have been very few data regarding the correlation between plasma adiponectin level and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis and the available results are still inconclusive. Methods: Every patient who received coronary angiography at Phramongkutklao Hospital during the period of January 2008 to January 2009 was recruited into the study. Fasting venous blood samples were obtained from cubital veins for analysis of plasma adiponectin levels. Plasma adiponectin levels were measured with RIA kits from LINCO Research, USA. Coronary angiography was reviewed by one interventional cardiologist who was blinded to the blood results. The severity of coronary artery stenosis was assessed using the Gensini's score. Results: There were 160 patients included in this study. Sixty four percent (103/160 patients) were male with the mean age of 64.03 ± 11.3 years. The mean plasma adiponectin level was 11.19 ± 13.66 ng/ml, mean Gensini'score was 34 ± 25.75. Plasma adiponectin levels were inversely correlated with the severity of coronary stenosis (r = -0.243, p = 0.001). Body mass index (BMI) was also found to be inversely correlated with the plasma adiponectin level (r = -0.165, p<0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that Gensini's score, a convenient index of the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) was inversely and significantly correlated with plasma adiponectin levels. Conclusion: Low plasma adiponectin levels were associated with the severity of coronary atherosclerosis in patients undergoing coronary angiography. Measurement of plasma adiponectin levels may be useful for predicting the severity