Background:
Adipokines are secreted by adipose tissue, play a role in cardiometabolic pathways, and have differing associations with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Coronary artery calcium (CAC) and its progression indicate subclinical atherosclerosis and prognosticate CVD risk. However the association of adipokines with CAC progression is not well established. We examined the association of adipokines with the odds of a history of CAC progression in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
Methods:
We performed an analysis of 1,904 community dwelling adults free of clinical CVD in MESA. Participants underwent measurement of serum adipokines [leptin, resistin and adiponectin] at visits 2 or 3 (randomly assigned) and a contemporaneous cardiac CT scan at same visit. Participants also had a prior cardiac CT at visit 1, at a median of 2.4 years earlier. On both CTs, CAC was quantified by Agatston score. We defined a history of CAC progression between the CT scans at visit 1 and at visit 2 or 3 as those with >0 Agatston units of change per year (and compared to those with ≤0 units of change per year). We used logistic regression to examine the odds of having a history of CAC progression by adipokine tertiles using progressively adjusted models.
Results:
The mean participant age was 65 (10) years; 50% were women, 40% White, 13% Chinese, 21% Black and 26% Hispanic. The prevalences of CAC at visits 1 and 2/3 were 49% and 58%, respectively. There were 1,001 (53%) who had CAC progression between the 2 CT scans. In demographic-adjusted models (model 1, Table), higher leptin and lower adiponectin were associated with increased odds of prior CAC progression. In models fully adjusted for BMI and other CVD risk factors (model 3), only the highest tertile of leptin remained associated with a greater odds of prior CAC progression [OR 1.55 (95% CI 1.04, 2.30)].
Conclusions:
Higher leptin levels were independently associated with a history of CAC progression. Atherosclerosis progression may be one mechanism through which leptin confers increased CVD risk
Higher Leptin Levels Are Associated with Coronary Artery Calcium Progression: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)
