Background – Adiponectin is reduced in obesity and may be associated with atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. Hypoadiponectinemia may also contribute to the development of obesity-related hypertension.
Objective – To determine the blood pressure and adiponectin responses to weight loss.
Design – Weight loss study in 25 obese men and women over a 12 month period.
Outcomes – Weight loss after 3 months of energy restriction was 7% (7.7 ± 3.4 kg) and 5% at 12 months. Resting systolic blood pressure (SBP) at baseline was 123±13 mmHg which was lower after weight loss at 3 months (114±16 mmHg, P<0.05) but was not different at 52 weeks. Adiponectin fell by 4 % at 3 months (p=0.1) but rose by nearly 20% at 12 months (P<0.05). There was a negative correlation between adiponectin and SBP (r=-0.427, P≤0.05) at baseline which remained after adjustment for BMI. Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was also negatively correlated with adiponectin. These correlations were not observed at 3 months. After 52 weeks SBP was negatively correlated with adiponectin (r=-0.554, P≤0.05) which was lost after adjustment for BMI. After 52 weeks DBP was also negatively correlated with adiponectin (r=-.610, P≤0.05) but after adjustment for BMI this relationship was weaker (r-.528, P=0.08)
Conclusions – There is an inverse relationship between adiponectin and blood pressure that appears to be disrupted after short-term weight loss but is re-established at 52 weeks when adiponectin rises.