Our objective was to examine omental and subcutaneous adipocyte adiponectin release in women. We tested the hypothesis that adiponectin release would be reduced to a greater extent in omental than in subcutaneous adipocytes of women with visceral obesity. Omental and subcutaneous adipose tissue samples were obtained from 52 women undergoing abdominal hysterectomies (age: 47.1 +/- 4.8 years; BMI: 26.7 +/- 4.7 kg/m(2)). Adipocytes were isolated and their adiponectin release in the medium was measured over 2 h. Measures of body fat accumulation and distribution were obtained using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and computed tomography, respectively. Adiponectin release by omental and subcutaneous adipocytes was similar in lean individuals; however, in subsamples of obese or visceral obese women, adiponectin release by omental adipocytes was significantly reduced while that of subcutaneous adipocytes was not affected. Omental adipocyte adiponectin release was significantly and negatively correlated with total body fat mass (r = -0.47, P < 0.01), visceral adipose tissue area (r = -0.50, P < 0.01), omental adipocyte diameter (r = -0.43, P < 0.01), triglyceride levels (r = -0.32, P < or = 0.05), cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol (r = -0.31, P < or = 0.05), fasting glucose (r = -0.39, P < or = 0.01), fasting insulin (r = -0.36, P < or = 0.05), homeostasis model assessment index (r = -0.39, P < or = 0.01), and positively associated with HDL-cholesterol concentrations (r = 0.33, P < or = 0.05). Adiponectin release from subcutaneous cells was not associated with any measure of adiposity, lipid profile, or glucose homeostasis. In conclusion, compared to subcutaneous adipocyte adiponectin release, omental adipocyte adiponectin release is reduced to a greater extent in visceral obese women and better predicts obesity-associated metabolic abnormalities.