Associations of resistin with inflammatory and fibrinolytic markers, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome in middle-aged and older Chinese

Objective: Resistin increases insulin resistance (IR) in mice. However, the role of resistin in human disease remains controversial. We aimed to assess plasma resistin levels and their associations with inflammatory and fibrinolytic markers, IR and metabolic syndrome (MetS) among Chinese. Design and methods: Plasma resistin was measured in a population-based cross-sectional survey of 3193 Chinese aged from 50 to 70 years in Beijing and Shanghai. Results: The median resistin concentration was 8.60 ng/ml (interquartile range, 5.78-14.00) among all participants, and it was higher in women than in men (P=0.008). Resistin was correlated weakly with body mass index, waist circumference, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (negatively), homeostatic model assessment of IR and tumor necrosis factor-α receptor 2 (TNFR2; r=0.04, 0.07, -0.09 and 0.06 respectively, all P <0.05), and more highly with C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)6 and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI1 (r=0.12, 0.12 and 0.21 respectively, all P<0.001), but only HDL cholesterol, CRP, IL6, TNFR2, and PAI1 remained significantly associated with resistin in multiple regression analysis (all P <0.05). Furthermore, elevated resistin levels were associated with the higher prevalence of IR and MetS. However, the significant relationships disappeared after adjustment for inflammatory and fibrinolytic markers especially PAI1. Conclusions: This study suggests that resistin is more strongly associated with inflammatory and fibrinolytic markers than with obesity or IR status. The associations of resistin with IR and MetS could largely be explained by inflammatory and fibrinolytic markers especially PAI1 levels.