Alcohol Drinking Status is Associated with Serum High Molecular Weight Adiponectin in Community-Dwelling Japanese Men

Aim: Serum high molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin improves insulin sensitivity, and a decreased level of serum HMW adiponectin has been reported as a risk factor for the development of diabetes and coronary heart disease. This association may be further confounded by the alcohol drinking status, which is involved in the development of liver dysfunction. The aim of this study was to determine whether the alcohol drinking status is associated with serum HMW adiponectin levels in community-dwelling Japanese men. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2002. Study participants without a clinical history of diabetes (747 men aged 60 +/- 14 (mean +/- standard deviation) (range, 20-89) years) were randomly recruited from a single community at the time of their annual health examination. They were classified into never drinkers, light drinkers (<1 unit/day), moderate drinkers (1-1.9 units/day), and heavy drinkers (>= 2 units/day). We examined the effects of alcohol consumption on serum HMW adiponectin. Results: Overall, mean serum HMW adiponectin levels were significantly lower in the group with higher alcohol consumption, and there were inter-group differences in the alcohol drinking status. Moreover, age-adjusted mean serum HMW adiponectin levels were significantly lower in the group with higher alcohol consumption. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the alcohol drinking status was significantly and independently associated with serum adiponectin as well as age, smoking status, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C, serum ALT, and HOMA-IR. Multivariate-adjusted mean serum HMW adiponectin levels were also significantly lower in the group with higher alcohol consumption. Conclusion: The alcohol drinking status is negatively associated with serum HMW adiponectin levels in Japanese community-dwelling men.