Association of chemerin levels and bone mineral density in Chinese obese postmenopausal women

Increasing evidence suggests the association between obesity and bone metabolism. However, whether excessive fat accumulation has a beneficial or adverse effect on bone health remains controversial. Chemerin is a novel adipocyte-derived hormone and a chemoattractant cytokine that regulates adipogenesis. This study was performed to investigate the associations of serum chemerin with bone mineral density (BMD) and serum pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in 543 Chinese obese postmenopausal women. BMD of the femoral neck and lumbar spine, lean mass, and fat mass were measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Anthropometric assessment and laboratory measurements were performed. The age, time after menopause, and fat mass were negatively correlated with femoral and lumbar BMD, whereas lean mass was positively correlated with aforementioned variables. Furthermore, BMD at the lumbar spine was inversely associated with serum chemerin and TNF-α levels (r = −0.155, P = 0.001; r = −0.147, P = 0.001). Multiple linear regression analyses showed that serum chemerin levels were negatively correlated with BMD at the lumbar site after controlling for the age, lean, and fat mass (β = −0.125, P = 0.001). Chronic low-grade inflammation state in obese population has an inverse effect on bone mass. Chemerin as an adipocytokine and chemoattractant negatively affects the bone mass of Chinese obese postmenopausal women. Further studies are needed to confirm the potential role of chemerin in the crosstalk between bone and fat accumulation in obese population.