Purpose: Plasma adiponectin and serum uric acid (SUA) levels are negatively correlated. To better understand the possible mechanisms linking adiponectin and uric acid, we analyzed whether the association between adiponectin and SUA differed by hypertension status (or blood pressure level) and by sex.
Methods and materials: We analyzed data from the populationbased CoLaus study (Switzerland). Fasting plasma adiponectin levels were assessed by ELISA and SUA by uricase-PAP. Blood pressure (BP) was measured using a validated automated device and hypertension was defined as having office BP 140/90 mm Hg or being on current antihypertensive treatment.
Results: In the 2897 men and 3181 women, aged 35-74, BMI (mean ± SD) was 26.6 ± 4.0 and 25.1 ± 4.8 Kg/m2, systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 132.2 ± 16.6 and 124.8 ± 18.3 mm Hg, median (interquartile range) plasma adiponectin was 6.2 (4.1-9.2) and 10.6 (6.9-15.4) mg/dL, and hypertension prevalence was 42.0% and 30.2%, respectively. The age- and BMI- adjusted partial correlation coefficients between log-adiponectin and SUA were 0.09 and 0.06 in normotensive men and women (P <0.01), and 0.004 (P = 0.88) and 0.15 (P <0.001) in hypertensive men and women, respectively. In median regression adjusted for BMI, insulin, smoking, alcohol consumption, menopausal status and HDL-cholesterol, there was a significant three-way interaction between SUA, SBP and sex for their effect on adiponectin (dependent variable, P = 0.005), as well as interactions between SBP and sex (P = 0.014) and between SUA and sex (P = 0.033).
Conclusion: Plasma adiponectin and SUA are negatively associated, independently of BMI and insulin, in a population-based study in Caucasians. However, BP modifies this inverse relationship, as it was significant mainly in women with elevated BP. This observation suggests that the link between adiponectin and SUA may be mediated by sex hormones and the hypertension status.