Metabolic syndrome, adipokines and hormonal factors in pharmacologically untreated adult elderly subjects from the Brisighella Heart Study historical cohort.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to evaluate the relation of the sex hormone pattern and the serum level of the main adipokines with metabolic syndrome (MS) and its components in a cohort of pharmacologically untreated adult elderly subjects.
METHODS: From the historical cohort of the Brisighella Heart Study we selected 199 adult healthy subjects aged 62.5 ± 12.4 years. Men and women included in the age class subgroups were matched for BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, heart rate, fasting plasma glucose, and plasma lipids. In these subjects we measured leptin, adiponectin, ghrelin, testosterone, estrone, and deydroepiandrosterone sulphate.
RESULTS: Men without MS had significantly lower leptin/adiponectin ratio than men with MS. Women without MS had a lower leptin level and leptin/adiponectin ratio than women with MS, but had significantly higher adiponectin, estrone, and deydroepiandrosterone levels. In men, the leptin/adiponectin ratio is the main factor associated with MS diagnosis (OR 3.36, 95% CI 1.40-8.08), while in women adiponectin alone appears to be a protective factor (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.79-0.95).
CONCLUSION: In a sample of pharmacologically untreated adult elderly subjects, leptin/adiponectin ratio seems to be the factor that is more strongly associated with MS (especially in men) and its components, though this is true to a different degree in men and women.