The association of adiponectin with risk of pre-diabetes and diabetes in different subgroups: cluster analysis of a general population in south China

OBJECTIVE: Adiponectin is an adipocyte-derived hormone with an important role in glucose metabolism. The present study explored the effect of adiponectin in diverse population groups on pre-diabetes and newly diagnosed diabetes. METHODS: A total of 3300 individuals were enrolled and their data were collected in the analyses dataset from December 2018 to October 2019. Cluster analysis was conducted based on age, BMI, waistline, body fat, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, and glycosylated hemoglobin 1c. Cluster analysis divided the participants into four groups: a young-healthy group, an elderly-hypertension group, a high glucose–lipid group, and an obese group. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% CIs were calculated using multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Compared with the first quartile of adiponectin, the risk of pre-diabetes of fourth quartile was decreased 61% (aOR = 0.39, 95% CI (0.20–0.73)) in the young-healthy group; and the risk of diabetes of fourth quartile was decreased 85% (aOR = 0.15, 95% CI (0.02–0.67)) in the obese group. There were no significant correlations between the adiponectin level and diabetes/pre-diabetes in the other two groups. Additionally, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that adiponectin could significantly improve the diagnosis based on models in the young-healthy group (from 0.640 to 0.675) and the obese group (from 0.714 to 0.761). CONCLUSIONS: Increased adiponectin levels were associated with decreased risk of pre-diabetes in the young-healthy population, and with a decreased the risk of diabetes in the obese population. An increased adiponectin level is an independent protective factor for pre-diabetes and diabetes in a specific population in south China.