Serum Orosomucoid Is Associated with Serum Adiponectin, Adipose Tissue Insulin Resistance Index, and a Family History of Type 2 Diabetes in Young Normal Weight Japanese Women

Introduction. Adipose tissue (AT) expandability may be facilitated by adiponectin and suppressed by orosomucoid, and reduced AT expandability may be associated with first-degree relatives of type 2 diabetes. We tested the hypothesis that orosomucoid may be associated not only with adiponectin and adipose tissue insulin resistance but also with a family history of type 2 diabetes (FHD). Research Design and Methods. Anthropometric and metabolic variables, adipokines, and measures of inflammatory and insulin resistance were cross-sectionally investigated in 153 young normal weight Japanese women. Stepwise multivariate linear regression analyses were used to identify the most important determinants of orosomucoid. Results. Orosomucoid was higher in women with positive (n=57) compared to women with negative FHD and was associated positively with FHD (both p=0.01). Orosomucoid also showed positive associations with fasting glucose (p < 0.001), free fatty acids (p=0.001), and HbA1c (p=0.007), whereas there was no association with fasting insulin and serum lipids. In addition, orosomucoid was associated inversely with adiponectin (p=0.02) and positively with adipose tissue-insulin resistance index (AT-IR, the product of fasting insulin and free fatty acids; p=0.001) but not with homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance, leptin, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. In multivariate analyses, AT-IR (standardized beta, 0.22; p=0.003), serum adiponectin (standardized beta, -0.163; p=0.032), FHD+ (standardized beta, 0.178; p=0.029), and HbA1c (standardized beta, 0.213; p=0.005) emerged as independent determinants of orosomucoid and explained 15.2% of its variability. Conclusions. These results are the first to demonstrate that orosomucoid is associated not only with adipose tissue-insulin resistance and adiponectin but also with FHD.