The role of C-reactive protein, adiponectin and leptin in the association between abdominal adiposity and insulin resistance in middle-aged individuals.

Background And Aims: In the present study, we assessed the extent of mediation by low-grade systemic inflammation and adipokines in the association between abdominal adiposity and insulin resistance.

Methods And Results: In this cross-sectional analysis of baseline measurements of the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study, total body fat (TBF) was measured in all (n = 5772) participants who did not have missing data and neither used glucose-lowering medication, and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (aSAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) were assessed by MRI in a random subgroup (n = 2448). C-reactive protein (CRP), adiponectin, and leptin were considered as potential mediators, and insulin resistance was assessed by Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR).