Adiponectin, the most abundant adipose tissue-derived hormone, plays a protective role in the development of obesity-related diseases, including insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Encoded by the ADIPOQ gene, on human chromosome 3q27, the monomeric glycoprotein consists of four domains which undergo post-translational modifications to form multiple isoforms; low, medium and high molecular weight adiponectin. In this cross-sectional study, the difference of serum adiponectin levels was investigated in incidence of risk factors of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and inflammatory disease. Students from the University of Lincoln underwent anthropomorphic and haemodynamic measurements, and blood samples were taken for serum analysis. Adiponectin was quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) was quantified using latex-enhanced immunoturbidimetry. Participants completed a series of questionnaires and were divided into four separate groups accordingly; healthy males, inflammatory males, healthy females and inflammatory females, to identify anthropomorphic, serum adiponectin and hs-CRP differences between the subject groups. Results demonstrated serum adiponectin was significantly increased in incidence of an inflammatory condition (male: n=28, *p=.030) (female: n=62, *p=.024). Female serum adiponectin was consistently higher when compared to males (***p<.001) and results demonstrated an inverse correlation between total adiponectin and risk factors of MetS, including body mass index (BMI) (male: n=39, **p=.005) (female: n=50, **p=.002) and waist circumference (male: n=34, *p=.014) (female: n=50, *p=.004). A negative linear relationship between total adiponectin and hs-CRP was found in males in 2018 (n=32, *p=.007), moreover, results demonstrated a positive linear relationship between hs-CRP and BMI (male: n=37, **p=.002) (female: n=88, *p=.012), and waist circumference (male: n=37, **p=.002) (female: n=88, *p=.045). These results provide evidence for the difference of adiponectin levels within a relatively young and healthy student population, and suggest a dichotomous relationship between adiponectin and hs-CRP with incidence of risk factors of MetS and inflammatory conditions.
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