Plasma Adiponectin Levels Correlate Positively with an Increasing Number of Components of Frailty in Male Elders

OBJECTIVE Frailty is an important geriatric syndrome. Adiponectin is an important adipokine that regulates energy homeostasis. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between plasma adiponectin levels and frailty in elders. METHODS The demographic data, body weight, metabolic and inflammatory parameters, including plasma glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), c-reactive protein (CRP) and adiponectin levels, were assessed. The frailty score was assessed using the Fried Frailty Index (FFI). RESULTS The mean (SD) age of the 168 participants [83 (49.4%) men and 85 (50.6%) women] was 76.86 (6.10) years. Judged by the FFI score, 42 (25%) elders were robust, 92 (54.7%) were pre-frail, and 34 (20.3%) were frail. The mean body mass index was 25.19 (3.42) kg/m(2). The log-transformed mean (SD) plasma adiponectin (µg/mL) level was 1.00 (0.26). The log-transformed mean plasma adiponectin (µg/mL) levels were 0.93 (0.23) in the robust elders, 1.00 (0.27) in the pre-frail elders, and 1.10 (0.22) in the frail elders, and the differences between these values were statistically significant (p  = 0.012). Further analysis showed that plasma adiponectin levels rose progressively with an increasing number of components of frailty in all participants as a whole (p for trend  = 0.024) and males (p for trend  = 0.037), but not in females (p for trend  = 0.223). CONCLUSION Plasma adiponectin levels correlate positively with an increasing number of components of frailty in male elders. The difference between the sexes suggests that certain sex-specific mechanisms may exist to affect the association between adiponectin levels and frailty.