Journal of thrombosis and haemostasis : JTH
July 31, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Plasma levels of adiponectin and risk of future incident venous thromboembolism.
Onsaker AL, van Hylckama Vlieg A, Ueland T, Aukrust P, Brækkan SK, Hansen JB, Morelli VM.
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
Higher plasma adiponectin was associated with a lower risk of future first VTE, especially within five years of measurement.
What was studied
A population-based nested case-control study from the Tromso study with 381 VTE cases and 772 matched controls, using adiponectin quartiles.
Key findings
- Highest versus lowest quartile OR was 0.69 (95% CI 0.48-0.99) over the whole period
- Within five years the OR was 0.40 (95% CI 0.20-0.77)
- Adjusting for BMI and CRP had minor impact
Clinical relevance
It suggests adiponectin may be a marker or contributor to VTE risk beyond obesity.
Who should care
Limitations
Observational, with a single baseline adiponectin measurement, so causality is not shown.
No practice change; adiponectin is not a clinical test, but the finding is hypothesis-generating.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
Background
Adiponectin, a hormone-like protein primarily secreted by adipocytes, is typically decreased in obesity. Adiponectin has been shown to have antithrombotic properties through regulation of hemostatic factors in vitro. However, the association between adiponectin and venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains unclear.
Objectives
To investigate the association between plasma adiponectin levels and risk of future first lifetime VTE.
Methods
A population-based nested case-control study, including 381 VTE cases and 772 age-and sex-matched controls, was derived from the Tromsø4 survey (1994/95-2007). Adiponectin was measured in samples collected at cohort inclusion. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for VTE across adiponectin quartiles (Q) determined in controls using sex-specific quartile cut-offs. To investigate short-term associations, time-restricted analysis was performed including VTE cases occurring up to 5 years after cohort inclusion.
Results
High adiponectin levels were associated with decreased VTE risk, with an OR of 0.69 (95% CI 0.48-0.99) for Q4 vs Q1 (reference) in age- and sex-adjusted analysis for the entire study period. The inverse association between adiponectin and VTE risk was stronger with analysis restricted to the first 5 years after cohort inclusion, with an OR of 0.40 (95% CI 0.20-0.77) for Q4 vs Q1. The additional adjustment for body mass index and C-reactive protein had minor impact on risk estimates.
Conclusion
Our results suggest that high plasma adiponectin levels are associated with decreased risk of future first lifetime VTE, particularly shortly after cohort inclusion, and that adiponectin might play a role in the pathogenesis of VTE.
DOI
10.1016/j.jtha.2026.07.023
PMID
42532277
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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