Low Adiponectin Levels Predict Type 2 Diabetes in Mexican Children
- Miguel Cruz, PHD1,
- Rebeca García-Macedo, PHD1,
- Yolanda García-Valerio, MD2,
- Margarita Gutiérrez, PHD1,
- Rafael Medina-Navarro, PHD1,
- Genoveva Duran, PHD1,
- Niels Wacher, MD, MSC2 and
- Jesús Kumate, MD, PHD1
- 1Unidad de Investigación Médica en Bioquímica, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City, Mexico
- 2Unidad de Investigación Médica en Epidemiología Clínica, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City, Mexico
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Miguel Cruz, PHD, Unidad de Investigación Médica en Bioquímica, Coordinación de Investigación en Salud, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Av. Cuauhtemoc 330, C.P. 06720, México D.F., México. E-mail: mcruzl{at}yahoo.com
Adipose tissue is not only an energy storage organ, it also plays an important role in the combination of endocrine, metabolic, and inflammatory signals in the organism in order to regulate insulin sensitivity and energy metabolism (1–3). Among other adipocytokines secreted by adipocytes, adiponectin could participate in this regulation (3,4). Obesity and hyperinsulinemia are suggested as the potential mechanisms for the suppression of adiponectin levels in the body, and ethnicity may play a role in adiponectin regulation among different groups (5). Because the Mexican population is a combination of Amerindian, Caucasian, Negro, and Asiatic gene admixtures (6), it is relevant to investigate the association of adiponectin with type 2 diabetes, particularly in obese Mexican children.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
We studied 40 children with type 2 diabetes and 73 children with normal glucose tolerance (evaluated after fasting and 2 h after glucose ingestion) who were aged 8–16 years (63 girls and 50 boys). The protocol was approved by the hospital research committee. After obtaining signed informed consent from parents, a clinical interview, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements, and acanthosis nigricans were assessed (Table 1 …
