Adipokines, the metabolic syndrome and incident type 2 diabetes in Aboriginal Canadians

The purpose of this thesis was to determine the incidence of type 2 diabetes and associated risk factors in Aboriginal Canadians exposed to rapid epidemiological transition in conjunction with unique genetic susceptibility to the disease. The 10-year cumulative incidence of type 2 diabetes was 17.5%, and the incidence increased with age. High adiposity, high triglyceride, hypertension, hyperglycemia and the metabolic syndrome at baseline were associated with increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes. Low adiponectin was associated with increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes after adjustment for metabolic syndrome variables. Combinational effects of adiponectin with leptin, C-reactive protein (CRP), Interleukin 6 (IL-6), and/or serum amyloid A (SAA) did not improve diabetes prediction. In conclusion, the metabolic syndrome is a predictor of incident type 2 diabetes, and low baseline adiponectin is associated with increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes independent of leptin, CRP, IL-6, SAA, and metabolic syndrome variables.