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The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 59:M935-M939 (2004)
© 2004 The Gerontological Society of America

Adipocytokines, Fat Distribution, and Insulin Resistance in Elderly Men and Women

Elena Zoico1, Vincenzo Di Francesco1, Gloria Mazzali1, Roberto Vettor2, Francesco Fantin1, Luisa Bissoli1, Silvia Guariento1, Ottavio Bosello1 and Mauro Zamboni1,

1 Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of Verona, Italy.
2 Endocrine-Metabolic Laboratory, Internal Medicine 3, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Padua, Italy.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Mauro Zamboni, MD, Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of Verona, Piazzale Stefani 1, 37126 Verona, Italy. E-mail: mauro.zamboni{at}univr.it

Background. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relation between adiponectin and leptin, fat distribution, and insulin resistance in elderly men and women.

Methods. 68 elderly participants (28 men and 40 women) aged 66–77 years, with body mass index (BMI) ranging from 19.83 to 37.18 kg/m2, participated in the study. In all participants, we evaluated BMI, waist and hip circumferences, sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD), fat mass (FM) by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, fasting and 2-hour glucose, insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA), leptin, and adiponectin.

Results. Elderly women had significantly higher circulating levels of adiponectin and leptin compared to men even after adjusting for age, FM, or waist circumference. In men and women, leptin was positively associated, whereas adiponectin was negatively associated, with BMI, indices of body fat distribution, as well as FM and FM%. Both fasting insulin and HOMA showed significant positive correlation with leptin and negative correlation with adiponectin in both sexes. In a step-wise multiple regression model with HOMA as the dependent variable and age, gender, waist circumference, FM, leptin, and adiponectin as independent variables, waist entered the regression first, explaining 19.7% of HOMA variance, leptin was second, and adiponectin was third, explaining each one an additional 10% of variance. In a multiple linear regression analysis, leptin and adiponectin alone explained up to 38% of HOMA variance.

Conclusion. Leptin and adiponectin together seem to be strictly related to insulin resistance in elderly people, independently of body fat and body fat distribution.




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Copyright © 2004 by The Gerontological Society of America.