OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between adiponectin and metabolic parameters in severely obese women during surgical-induced weight loss. METHODS: Nineteen lean (CT - BMI:21.2 ± 0.3 kg.m²), 14 overweight/class II obese (OB/OW - BMI: 29.7 ± 0.7 kg/m²) and 8 morbidly obese (OBIII - BMI: 56.4 ± 3.6 kg/m²) were evaluated by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp, adiponectin, and lipids. OBIII were evaluated at 5th and 16th month post-operatively. RESULTS: Compared to lean, obese groups had lower adiponectin (OB/OW: 9.4 ± 0.9, OBIII: 7.1 ± 1.3 versus 12.2 ± 0.9 ng/dL; p < 0.01), lower HDL-cholesterol (OB/OW:1.05 ± 0.05, OBIII: 0.88 ± 0.04 versus 1.22 ± 0.07 mmol/L; p < 0.01) and insulin resistance-IR (glucose uptake, M-value - OB/OW: 43.6 ± 2.7, OBIII: 32.4 ± 3.2 versus 20.0 ± 1.8 umol/kgFFM.min; p < 0.001). Considering all subjects, adiponectin levels were inversely correlated to BMI and waist circumference, and directly to M-value and HDL-cholesterol (p < 0.01). During weight loss, improvements in IR (Study III: 36.1 ± 3.9 umol/kg/FFM.min, p < 0.0001), adiponectin (11.8 ± 1.4 ng/dL, p = 0.006) and HDL-cholesterol were observed (1.10 ± 0.04 mmol/L, p = 0.007). Moreover, HDL-cholesterol improvement was significantly and independently related to variations of adiponectin and BMI (r² = 0.86; p < 0.0002). CONCLUSIONS: The improvements of IR and adiponectin were related to surgical-induced weight loss, suggesting an important role of adiponectin in HDL-cholesterol regulation.
Obesity; adiponectin; insulin resistance; weight loss; gastric bypass; HDL-cholesterol; glucose clamp technique