Background

Adipokines have inflammatory and fibrotic properties that may be critical in interstitial lung disease (ILD). We examined associations of serum adipokine levels with CT imaging-based measures of subclinical ILD and lung function among community-dwelling adults.

Methods

A subset of the original Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis cohort (n = 1,968) had adiponectin, leptin, and resistin measured during follow-up visits (2002-2005). We used regression models to examine associations of adiponectin, leptin, and resistin levels with (1) high-attenuation areas (HAAs) from CT scans (2004-2005, n = 1,144), (2) interstitial lung abnormalities (ILAs) from CT scans (2010-2012, n = 872), and (3) FVC from spirometry (2004-2006, n = 1,446). We used -(1/HAA²), which we denoted with H, to model HAA as our outcome to meet model assumptions.

Results

Higher adiponectin was associated with lower HAA on CT imaging among adults with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m² (P for BMI interaction = .07). Leptin was more strongly associated with ILA among never smokers compared with ever smokers (P for smoking interaction = .004). For every 1-SD increment of log-transformed leptin, the percent predicted FVC was 3.8% lower (95% CI, -5.0 to -2.5). Higher serum resistin levels were associated with greater HAA on CT in a fully adjusted model. For every 1-SD increment of log-transformed resistin there was an increase in H of 14.8 (95% CI, 3.4-26.3).

Conclusions

Higher adiponectin levels were associated with lower HAA on CT imaging among adults with a higher BMI. Higher leptin and resistin levels were associated with lower FVC and greater HAA, respectively.