Association of serum adiponectin concentration with aortic arterial stiffness in chronic kidney disease: from the KNOW-CKD study

Background High serum adiponectin levels predict all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the relationship between serum adiponectin concentration and arterial stiffness in CKD is not well established. The aim of this study was to assess this relationship by measuring pulse wave velocity (PWV) in CKD patients. Methods Serum adiponectin concentration was measured in 716 CKD patients in the prospective KoreaN cohort study for Outcome in patients With Chronic Kidney Disease. The study group consisted of 415 men and 301 women; mean age was 53.1 years, and baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 51 +/- 29 ml/min per 1.73 m(2). Heart to femoral PWV (hfPWV) and mean brachial to ankle PWV (baPWV) served as indicators of aortic artery stiffness and arterial stiffness, respectively. Results Increasing quartiles of serum adiponectin levels were associated with women, lower eGFRs and body mass indices, and higher urinary albumin-creatinine ratios. Serum adiponectin concentration also correlated with hfPWV and mean baPWV, even after adjusting for age and sex. It independently associated with hfPWV (B 0.028; 95 % confidence interval, 0.004-0.051; P = 0.020) but not mean baPWV in a multivariable linear regression analysis. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, it correlated significantly with the highest quartile of hfPWVs but not mean baPWVs. Conclusion The independent and significant correlation of serum adiponectin concentration with hfPWV in CKD patients implicates adiponectin in CKD-associated aortic stiffness.