Contribution of a first-degree family history of diabetes to increased serum adipocyte fatty acid binding protein levels independent of body fat content and distribution

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: First-degree relatives of patients with diabetes bear an increased risk of diabetes, overweight/obesity and cardiovascular disease. Accumulating evidence indicates that circulating concentrations of adipokines are altered in individuals with a first-degree family history of diabetes (FHD), but the adipokine adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP) has been rarely studied in this population. The present study explored the association between a first-degree FHD and serum A-FABP levels. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 1962 normoglycemic participants were divided into subgroups of men, premenopausal women and postmenopausal women. Serum A-FABP levels were measured using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay. Abdominal fat distribution, including visceral fat area and subcutaneous fat area, was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: Totals of 792 men, 544 premenopausal women and 626 postmenopausal women were enrolled. Serum A-FABP levels were much higher in subjects with a first-degree FHD than in those without an FHD in all subgroups (all P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed an independent and positive relationship between a first-degree FHD and serum A-FABP levels in men (P=0.029), premenopausal women (P=0.036) and postmenopausal women (P=0.008). Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that a first-degree FHD was an independent factor positively associated with serum A-FABP levels in men (standardized β=0.068, P=0.029), premenopausal women (standardized β=0.090, P=0.018) and postmenopausal women (standardized β=0.102, P=0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Serum A-FABP levels were increased significantly in normoglycemic individuals with a first-degree FHD. The contribution of the first-degree FHD to the elevated serum A-FABP levels was independent of total body fat content and abdominal fat distribution. Thus, use of serum A-FABP as a biomarker in the first-degree relatives of patients with diabetes may result in overestimation of the risk of obesity-induced metabolic disease and cardiovascular disease.