Women with levels in lowest tertile at year 15 have about two-fold increased asthma risk at year 20
FRIDAY, April 6 (HealthDay News) -- Middle-aged women with low blood adiponectin levels are about twice as likely to develop asthma, particularly if they smoke, according to a study published online April 6 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Noting that their previous study found a link between low serum adiponectin and incident asthma in women but did not address whether low adiponectin predicted future asthma or if asthma lowered adiponectin levels, Akshay Sood, M.D., M.P.H., from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and colleagues analyzed incident asthma and serum adiponectin levels in 1,450 women (1,011 premenopausal). The participants were from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults cohort who were examined at 10, 15, and 20 years.
The researchers found that, after multivariable adjustment, women whose adiponectin levels were in the lowest third (<7 mg/L) at year 15 had a significantly higher risk of incident asthma at year 20 (odds ratio, 2.07), particularly if they currently smoked. Low adiponectin levels were more predictive than body mass index. In contrast, prevalent asthma at year 10 did not predict adiponectin levels at year 15.
"Serum adiponectin affects future risk for asthma in women and not vice versa," Sood and colleagues conclude. "Measures that raise systemic adiponectin concentrations may lead to newer ways to prevent asthma among women, particularly among those who smoke."
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