Aims: Adiponectin, an insulin-sensitizing adipokine, confers protection against type 2 diabetes. Although adiponectin is secreted exclusively from fat, contributions of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) versus subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) to adiponectin levels have not been fully understood. We aimed to examine correlations between changes in VAT and SAT volumes and changes in adiponectin levels.
Methods: Here, we have investigated the correlations between ΔVAT and ΔSAT with Δadiponectin in participants of the Diabetes Prevention Program, a clinical trial investigating the effects of lifestyle changes and metformin versus placebo on the rate of developing type 2 diabetes. Data on VAT and SAT volumes, measured by computed tomography, and on adiponectin levels at both baseline and 1-year follow-up were available in 321 men and 626 women.
Results: In men, Δadiponectin was highly significantly correlated with both ΔSAT (r s = -0.329) and ΔVAT (r s = -0.413). Likewise, in women, Δadiponectin was correlated with both ΔSAT (r s = -0.294) and ΔVAT (r s = -0.348). In the lifestyle arm, Δadiponectin remained highly significantly correlated with ΔSAT and ΔVAT in men (r s = -0.399 and r s = -0.460, respectively), and in women (r s = -0.372 and r s = -0.396, respectively), with P < 0.001 for all above correlations.
Conclusions: We conclude that for both men and women, adiponectin changes are highly significantly correlated with changes in both SAT and VAT and that exercise- and weight-loss-induced reduction in both SAT and VAT contributes to the increased adiponectin.