Hypoadiponectinemia is an independent risk factor for hypertension

Adiponectin is one of the key molecules in the metabolic syndrome, and its concentration is decreased in obesity, type-2 diabetes, and coronary artery disease. Genetic investigation has revealed that 2 polymorphisms (I164T and G276T) are related to adiponectin concentration and diabetes. To examine whether adiponectin affects hypertension genetically or biologically, we performed a case-control study. A total of 446 diagnosed cases of hypertension (HT) in men and 312 normotensive (NT) men were enrolled in this study. Plasma adiponectin concentration was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay system. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were determined by TaqMan polymerase chain reaction method. After adjustment for confounding factors, adiponectin concentration was significantly lower in HT (HT: 5.2±0.2 μg/mL; NT: 6.1±0.2 μg/mL; P P P