Adiponectin index to assess metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance in obese adolescents

Background: Adiponectin level is decreased in obesity, and is suspected to be the cause of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and even linked with the onset of insulin resistance (IR). Adiponectin index (AI) has been used to determine IR and MetS in polycystic ovary syndrome (POCS).
Objectives: To assess the usefulness of AI to determine IR and MetS in obese adolescents.
Method: A cross sectional study was performed in obese adolescents from January to May 2020 in Sidoarjo and Surabaya Junior/High School, Indonesia.
Results: AI had a weak negative correlation with body weight, waist circumference, hip circumference and body mass index. AI also correlated with triglyceride, systolic blood pressure, fasting insulin, homeostatic model assessment for IR (HOMA-IR) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol HDL-c. Obese adolescent with MetS had bigger AI than non-MetS (0.21+ 0.18 vs. 0.13+0.09, p=0.0000). A similar phenomenon was seen in obese adolescents with IR (0.37+0.51 vs. 0.11+0.07, p=0.000). AI had a better prognostic value to determine IR than MetS, with larger area under curve (AUC), 0.890 vs. 0.606. Cut-off value to determine IR was <0.17, with sensitivity 81.3% and specificity 88.5%.
Conclusions: AI is better to determine IR than MetS with a cut-off of <0.17 in obese adolescents.