Low Plasma Adiponectin as a Potential Biomarker for Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head

Objective. To examine whether plasma adiponectin level is correlated with osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). Methods. Blood adiponectin level in patients with nontraumatic ONFH (n = 120) was compared with a group of healthy subjects (n = 120). Patients with hip osteoarthritis (OA; n = 30) and traumatic ONFH (n = 45) were included as controls. Potential compounding factors, such as plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), apolipoprotein Al (apo Al), apolipoprotein B (apo B), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were also examined. Results. Patients with nontraumatic ONFH had significantly lower plasma levels of adiponectin than the healthy controls (7.14 +/- 3.53 vs 10.93 +/- 3.41 mu g/ml, respectively; p < 0.001). Adiponectin level was positively correlated with HDI., (r = 0.282, p < 0.001) and age (r = 0.145, p = 0.01), yet negatively correlated with body mass index (r = -0.70, p < 0.001), TO (r = -0.55, p<0.001), LDL/HDL ratio (r = -0.173, p = 0.002), and CRP (r = -0.634, p < 0.001). No correlation was seen with LDL (r = -0.017, p = 0.762). A multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that adiponectin level is an independent predictor of the presence of nontraumatic ONFH (p < 0.001, OR 0.676, 95% CI 0.546 to 0.845). Conclusion. Low adiponectin level is significantly associated with the presence of nontraumatic ONFH. This biomarker may be useful in assessing the potential presence of nontraumatic ONFH. (First Release August 1 2010; J Rheumatol 2010;37:2151-5; doi:10.3899/jrheum.100342).