CDH13 Genotype–Dependent Association of High–Molecular Weight Adiponectin With All-Cause Mortality: The J-SHIPP Study

OBJECTIVE Despite its anti-inflammatory and antiatherogenic effects, adiponectin is potentially associated with adverse clinical outcomes, such as all-cause mortality. As plasma adiponectin levels are strongly influenced by single nucleotide polymorphisms in the gene encoding T-cadherin (CDH13), we conducted a longitudinal study to investigate the possible link between the CDH13 genotype, plasma adiponectin levels, and all-cause mortality.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This longitudinal study evaluated 2,020 Japanese subjects. Baseline clinical parameters were obtained from subjects’ personal health records as evaluated at annual medical check-ups. Plasma high–molecular weight adiponectin (HMWA) levels were measured by an ELISA assay, and genotyping was performed by a TaqMan probe assay.

RESULTS Mean follow-up duration was 6.5 years. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that HMWA levels were positively associated with mortality (P < 0.001). HMWA levels were associated with older age, lower body weight, lower plasma triglyceride and glucose levels, and higher plasma HDL cholesterol. However, the Cox regression analysis showed that the positive association between HMWA and all-cause mortality was independent of these covariates (hazard ratio [HR] 1.92, P = 0.006). The CDH13 rs4783244 genotype was strongly associated with baseline HMWA levels (per-allele effect size 1.65 μg/mL, P < 0.001). In a separate analysis by the CDH13 genotype, the HR for all-cause mortality was linearly increased with the number of G alleles (P value for HMWA–CDH13 genotype interaction = 0.023).

CONCLUSIONS Higher plasma HMWA level was an independent prognostic factor for all-cause mortality in a general population. The CDH13 genotype may be a factor that affects not only the plasma level of HMWA but also the prognostic significance of HMWA.