This study was conducted to examine the independent contributions of adipokines such as leptin, adiponectin and resistin, to the relationship between abdominal adiposity and arterial stiffness measured by pulse wave velocity. The study cohort included 749 participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. This cross-sectional analysis reported that the association between abdominal adiposity and arterial stiffness was independent of well-known potential confounders but was eliminated when leptin was included in the analysis. In contrast, neither adiponectin nor resistin significantly altered the relationship between arterial stiffness and adiposity even though adiponectin, resistin as well as leptin were independently associated with arterial stiffness. Moreover, the associations between adipokines and arterial stiffness were not affected by adiposity. Thus, these results support the contribution of adipokines to vascular complications associated with obesity such as arterial stiffness.
Documentation centre