Hypoadiponectinemia is associated with prehypertension in obese individuals of multiethnic origin.

Background: Considering that prehypertension is associated with an increase in cardiovascular risk, hypoadiponectinemia seems to be a predictor of hypertension.

Hypothesis: This study investigated whether adiponectin plasma levels are affected in Brazilian obese prehypertensives compared with those in normotensives and hypertensives.

Methods: The study involved 96 multiethnic obese subjects (mean age = 42.