The role of adipose tissue and adipokines in the manifestation of type 2 diabetes in the long-term period following myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the markers of insulin resistance and adipokine status in patients with visceral obesity during hospitalization following myocardial infarction (MI) and assess the disturbances of carbohydrate metabolism present 1 year after MI onset. METHODS: 94 male patients with MI were recruited. The exclusion criteria were as follows: age less than 50 or greater than 80 years, the presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and a prior history of pronounced renal failure.Obesity types were defined according to body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area. Glucose, insulin, adiponectin, leptin, and insulin resistance (IR) index were measured on days 1 and 12 after the onset of MI. New-onset type 2 diabetes was assessed 1 year after MI onset. RESULTS: According to computed tomography assessments of all study patients, 69 % of patients with MI suffered from visceral obesity. The VAT area was more closely associated with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with the obesity parameters, BMI and WC. Patients with a VAT area greater than 130 cm(2) had a 3.6-fold higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The presence of IR and hyperleptinemia increased the risk of developing diabetes in the post-MI period 3.5 and 3.7 times, respectively, in patients with visceral obesity compared with patients without visceral obesity. CONCLUSION: Visceral obesity is associated with IR, a 5.7-fold increase in leptin levels and a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes 1 year after MI onset.