High serum adiponectin as a biomarker of renal dysfunction: Results from the KNOW-CKD study

High serum adiponectin is noted in several conditions of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is a predictor for end stage renal disease. However, the relationship between adiponectin level and renal disease progression is not well established. This study aimed to determine the relationship between serum adiponectin levels and CKD progression. This prospective longitudinal study included 2238 patients from the Korean Cohort Study for Outcomes in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease. Patients were divided into quartiles according to their serum adiponectin level. Composite renal outcome was defined as one or more of the following: initiation of dialysis or transplantation, a two-fold increase in baseline serum creatinine levels, or a 50% decline in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) during the follow-up period. A cox proportional hazard ratio model was applied to analyze the relationship between composite renal outcome and serum adiponectin levels. Serum adiponectin level was inversely associated with eGFR (p<0.001) and positively correlated with urine albumin-creatinine ratio. The highest quartile of serum adiponectin was associated with an increased risk of adverse renal outomes (HR, 1.39; 95%CI, 1.05-1.84; p=0.021). On time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, predictive ability of adiponectin for renal outcomes disappeared after adjusting for eGFR. Therefore, serum adiponectin may be a biomarker of renal dysfunction rather than a true risk factor in CKD progression.