The levels of adiponectin and leptin and their relation to other markers of cardiovascular risk in patients with psoriasis

Background A link between psoriasis and risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) is supposed. Adipokines (adiponectin and leptin) playing roles in inflammation as well as lipid metabolism could have impact on CVD. Objectives We investigated links between adiponectin and leptin levels and several inflammation-and oxidative stress-related CVD risk makers in patients with psoriasis. Methods Sixty patients with plaque-type psoriasis with normal total cholesterol levels belonging to three body mass index (BMI) categories: BMI < 24.9, BMI 25.0-29.9 and BMI >= 30.0 kg/m(2) were studied. Fasting blood samples were analysed for adiponectin, leptin, high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL), oxidized LDL/beta(2)-glycoprotein complexes (oxLDL-beta(2)-GPI) and standard blood lipid panel. Results In patients, adiponectin was negatively (P < 0.005), and leptin, oxLDL and oxLDL-beta(2)-GPI levels were positively correlated to BMI (P < 0.005, P < 0.05, and P < 0.01, respectively). Patients had higher hsCRP and IL-6 levels as compared with the endemic reference values. High adiponectin was strongly associated with higher TNF-alpha and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.001), and lower triglycerides (TG) (P = 0.01) as well as oxLDL-beta(2)-GPI levels (P < 0.05). After multivariate adjustment, the association for TNF-alpha and TG remained significant (P < 0.01 for both). Multiple regression analysis also revealed that leptin concentration was significantly associated with hsCRP, oxLDL and TG levels. Conclusion The data suggest that in addition to the strong effect of inflammation and LDL oxidation, adipokine level may be one of the mechanisms behind the close association between psoriasis and CVD. Given the significant relations of several markers with BMI, health consequences of excessive weight should be better communicated to patients with psoriasis. Received: 31 August 2010; Accepted: 10 January 2011