PITTSBURGH — High levels of adiponectin are common in centenarian women and appear to be associated with a favorable metabolic profile, Dr. Agnieszka Baranowska-Bik and colleagues reported in a poster at the International Congress of Neuroendocrinology.
Adiponectin, a peptide produced and secreted in fat cells, has anti-inflammatory and athero-protective properties. Low plasma levels of adiponectin are associated with atherogenesis, insulin resistance, and obesity.
Dr. Baranowska-Bik and colleagues in the neuroendocrinology department at the Medical Centre of Postgraduate Education in Warsaw evaluated fasting plasma levels of adiponectin, leptin, and insulin in 133 women: 25 were aged 100–102 years, 26 were aged 64–67 years, 45 were aged 20–43 years, and 37 were obese women aged 26–54 years. In the centenarian group, plasma concentrations of adiponectin were significantly higher and leptin and insulin levels were significantly lower, compared with elderly, young, and obese women. Average plasma adiponectin levels were 17 μg/mL in the centenarian group, 10 μg/mL in the elderly, 11 μg/mL in the young, and 8 μg/mL in the obese.
Adiponectin levels correlated positively with HDL levels and inversely with insulin resistance index, total cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides, blood pressure, and body mass index.